Just Friends
by Dixon8
Summary: Emma met Daryl when she was fifteen and they have been best friends since. Is there more between them though or are they just friends? Pre-ZA.
1. Just Friends

_Okay, another pre-ZA story. This one was requested by writergrrrl. I hope you all like it. Let me know what you think._

_I know some people don't like to know what the OC looks like, they like the OC to look the way they want. So I won't give many physical descriptions but if you would like to know what the OC looks like, I have it posted on my profile page._

_Thanks for reading._

**_Please review._**

Nineteen year old Ben Carter and his fifteen year old sister Emma stood in front of his car and stared at the house in front of them. It had been years since the last time they were in Georgia and now, they were being forced to move there. Well, not both of them, just Emma. Their parents had just gotten killed in a car accident and although Ben wanted custody of Emma, the courts didn't think he was mature enough to take care of her. They told Ben and Emma that she would have to leave her home in Pennsylvania and move to Georgia to live with their Aunt and Uncle, which was the only family the two of them had. Ben quit his job and packed their stuff as soon as he was told she was leaving. He wasn't letting his little sister go anywhere without him. She was all he had left.

Ben took Emma's hand and the two of them walked towards the house. When they reached the front door, Ben took a deep breath and knocked. They didn't have to wait long for their Aunt May to answer.

"Hi Ben, Emma. Come on in." Aunt May said. She smiled at them and moved aside to let them in. "How are you guys? How was the drive here?"

"We're holding up. The drive was long but good. How are you doing Aunt May?" Ben asked.

"It's been hard but we're okay. How's Emma?" Aunt May asked, looking down at her niece. Ben shook his head.

"Still not talking to anyone. Hasn't said a word since she found out about the accident. It's like she's on autopilot. She goes through her daily routine but she's never really there." Ben said.

"Did you try sending her to therapy? Maybe a therapist can get her to talk." Aunt May suggested.

"No. No therapy. Don't want to put her through anymore than we have to. It hasn't been that long. She'll come around." Ben said.

Aunt May and Ben went outside and unloaded the bags from Ben's car. While they were outside, Emma walked around in the living room, looking around. Everything looked so different from last time she was here. She turned when she heard someone behind her and saw her Uncle Bill walking towards her.

"Hey kiddo, how are you doing?" Uncle Bill asked her. He waited for a minute and continued when she didn't respond. "Still not talking huh? I don't blame you. I wouldn't want to talk either if I constantly had someone asking me how I was doing." He put a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Hang in there kiddo. Things will get better, I promise."

Uncle Bill walked over to the front door to help Aunt May and Ben inside, leaving Emma alone to her own thoughts. That was how she liked it.

TWD

Ben and Emma had been living in Georgia for a couple months. Emma was going to school but had no friends as she still wasn't talking to anyone. Ben had finally caved and tried sending her to see a therapist but it didn't do any good. The therapist told Ben to give Emma some more time to see if she comes around. It had only been a couple months, she could still be trying to figure out how to deal with her parents' death. Ben was to try to get Emma involved with other kids her age to see if she would open up to any of them. If she didn't come around in another few months, Ben was suppose to set up another appointment.

Ben got a job in construction and worked while Emma was in school. He dropped her off every morning and picked her up every afternoon. For the past two weeks though, one of Ben's friends from work and his little brother, who was in the same grade as her, started meeting them at the house in the morning. The four of them would ride to school together and go home together. Ben's friend and his brother often stayed at their house for dinner. Emma didn't mind Ben's new friend. He was a little loud and talked dirty a lot but he seemed harmless enough. His brother was the opposite. He came off quiet and shy but she didn't mind that either. She knew that Ben had told the two of them about her parents. She heard them ask Ben why she never said anything but that was as far as it went. Merle and Daryl Dixon never said anything to her about her parents. They never once asked her if she was okay and she liked that.

Ben and Merle were waiting outside the school for Emma and Daryl like they did every other day and just like every other day, the car ride home was quiet. When they got home, Emma went straight to her room to do her homework, like she always did. However, she didn't know that she was being followed. She sat down at her desk and was taking her books out of her bag when Daryl walked in her room. He had talked to Emma before but she never talked back. She was the first girl in school to not turn him away the second she saw him. Hell, she was the first person in school to not turn him away. He was looking forward to actually having a friend. He just wished she would say something, anything. He sat down on her bed and watched her for a minute before finally speaking.

"Ya know, a few years ago, my mom died too." Daryl started. Emma stopped what she was going and turned to look at Daryl. He took this as a good sign so he continued. "She was drinkin' and smokin' and I guess she fell asleep. The house caught on fire and she never got out. I get why ya don' say nothin'. Losin' my mom was the worst thing I ever went through but it got easier as time went on. Ya don' ever forget but ya learn to live with it." Daryl stood up and walked towards her bedroom door.

"The last time I talked to my parents, we were fighting." Emma told him. Daryl stopped walking and turned to look at her. "I told them I hated them. That was the last thing I ever said to them."

"I'm sure they knew ya didn' hate them." Daryl said quietly. Emma shrugged.

"I hope so. I'm sorry about your mom." She said. Daryl nodded.

"I'm sorry 'bout yours." Daryl said before walking out of her room.

Emma and Daryl never said anything to anyone about their conversation that day but Ben noticed Emma started to slowly come around. She was talking now but only when she felt she had to. She still kept to herself at school and didn't make any new friends but Ben thought that would come in time. He did notice that she seemed to like Merle and Daryl though. She didn't really talk much to Merle but she smiled at him and laughed at his jokes a lot. Ben did know she was talking to Daryl, even if they never told anyone. He didn't know what it was about Daryl but for some reason she trusted him enough to open up to him and it couldn't have made Ben happier for her to talk to someone. He never would have imagined though that the four of them would be together for the next twenty years.

Twenty Years Later:

Emma wrapped a towel around herself as she stepped out of the shower. She towel dried her hair as best she could and plugged in her curling iron before opening the bathroom door. She jumped when she saw Daryl standing on the other side of her door. She hit his arm making him laugh at her.

"Ya hit like a girl ya know." He said. He followed her to her bedroom and stood in her doorway.

"Shut up Daryl! What the hell are you doing in my house?" She asked.

"Football party." He told her.

"You don't like football Daryl. Wait! What do you mean football party? " Emma asked. Daryl grinned at her.

"The one you're brother is havin' in your basement." He said. Emma shook her head.

"I am going to kick his ass. Why doesn't he ever have parties at his own house?" Emma said as she walked out of the bedroom and towards the basement stairs.

"Where are ya goin'?" Daryl called after her. She turned to look at him.

"I told you, I'm going to kick his ass." She responded. Daryl laughed at her until he saw her opening the basement door. He ran over to her and quickly shut the door.

"Ya know, as much as I would love to see ya get into it with your brother, there are about a dozen guys downstairs." Daryl said.

"Yeah, so?" Emma asked. Daryl moved from the door and took a step closer to her.

"Don' ya think you're a little...under dressed to be goin' downstairs right now?" He asked. Emma's eyes widened as she realized she was still in a towel.

"Oh my God!" She whispered as she hurried back to her bedroom and shut the door. Daryl followed her and stood outside her door. She came out ten minutes later in a short dark blue dress with black heels.

"Where are ya goin'? Ya got a date or somethin'?" Daryl asked as he followed her to the bathroom and watched her start playing with her hair.

"Oh no. You're not getting any information out of me Daryl Dixon. I'm not giving you a chance to scare away the guy before I even go out with him. Not going to happen. Now get out so I can get ready or I'll be late." Emma said as she shoved him out of the bathroom and shut the door.

TWD

Emma pulled into her driveway and sat in her car for a moment. She knew the football party was over, all of the vehicles were gone. Well, almost all of the vehicles. Daryl's truck was still in her driveway. She knew why he was still here, he did this every time she went out with a new guy. One time, she didn't know he was in her house and she had brought the date home. She was in such shock to see Daryl, she excused herself from the living room to get a drink, leaving the two boys alone. Worst thing she ever did. She still doesn't know what Daryl said to him but her date already had his coat on and was ready to leave when she got back to them.

Emma sighed as she got out of her car and walked towards the house. When she got inside, she put her leftover food in the fridge and walked in the living room. Daryl was sitting on the couch flipping through the channels and trying to find something on TV. She sat down on the couch next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"How'd it go?" Daryl asked her.

"Oh it was great. First off, even though it was a first date, he ordered my food for me. Tilapia." Emma said. Daryl over at her and laughed.

"Ya hate seafood." He said.

"I know. I told him that but he said fish is good for you and ordered it anyway. It's in the fridge if you want it by the way. Anyway, so his ex-girlfriend shows up and he invites her to sit with us. Of course, he was crushed when she declined his offer and left with her husband. Then, I ended up having to pay for the dinner I didn't eat because he forgot his wallet." Emma said. Daryl got up and went to the kitchen. He grabbed the ice cream out of the freezer and two spoons. He went back to the living room, sat back down next to Emma and handed her a spoon.

"Guy sounds like an asshole." Daryl said as they started eating the ice cream out of the container.

"Wait, best part yet to come. After the date, he asked me if I wanted to go home with him. He tells me his parents are out for the night so we could have the whole house to ourselves." Emma said. Daryl started laughing, making Emma laugh. "Seriously, I have the worst luck with men."

"That's cuz ya never dated a Dixon." Daryl said jokingly.

Emma laughed and shook her head before laying it back on his shoulder. They stayed up most of the night watching movies and eating ice cream. Daryl was Emma's best friend, he always knew what she needed and he always made sure to give it to her.


	2. Destiny

_Aww...thank you everyone for the adds and reviews. Sorry it took me so long to update. We have all been sick for the last few weeks. Thank you for being so patient with me._

_Thank you to writergrrrl for helping me out with this chapter._

**_Please review._**

Emma woke up the next morning to her alarm clock and and she groaned as she slapped at it until it stopped. She knew she shouldn't have stayed up so late but it wasn't very often Daryl stayed up with her to watch movies and eat ice cream. He only did it when she was upset about something so she made sure to enjoy every second of it. Slowly pulling herself out of bed, she went to her closet to get her work uniform. After changing, she went to the bathroom, brushed her teeth, put on makeup, and pulled her hair up. When she was done in the bathroom, she started towards the kitchen. She stopped when she noticed the spare bedroom's door was still shut.

"Get up Dixon! You're going to be late for work!" Emma yelled to him as she pounded on the bedroom door. She laughed when she heard him groan and swear to himself.

Emma went to the kitchen, got the coffee pot ready, and turned it on. She heard the bedroom door open, Daryl slowly make his way down the hall, and the bathroom door shut. After the coffee was done, Emma got two coffee mugs out the cupboard and poured coffee into both of them. She handed Daryl his coffee mug when he walked into the kitchen and leaned on the refrigerator.

"Thanks. Ya as tired as I am?" Daryl asked Emma.

"Yeah. I guess four hours of sleep isn't enough." Emma told him. Daryl nodded.

"Maybe we should both skip work today and just go back to bed." Daryl suggested. Emma shook her head, making Daryl sigh. "Fine. Seriously though, ya need to stop goin' on dates on work nights. It's killin' me."

Emma laughed. "Maybe you should just stop waiting up for me to get home after my dates."

She turned off the lights and walked out the door with her coffee. Daryl followed her outside.

"That ain't gonna happen." He muttered to himself.

TWD

Emma was happy the diner was busy for a Monday, with all the high school kids sitting around making plans. She knew if she sat down she would fall asleep. Emma finished taking a regular's order and walked it over to the little window to the kitchen with her least favorite coworker trailing behind. Destiny did a little work and a lot of talking. Mostly about her desire to date Daryl. Emma refused to hook the two of them up, though, knowing Destiny to be manipulative and hungry for money. The woman would tear poor Daryl apart, and Emma wouldn't be a part of it.

"Uh, why does it have to be so busy this early in the morning? It's Monday, it's never this busy." Destiny whined as Emma put the customer's order in the kitchen.

"School just got out. It always gets busier during the summer. All of the high school kids come here." Emma said, walking past Destiny to wait on more customers. Destiny stood by the counter, waiting on Emma.

"Is Daryl working today?" Destiny asked Emma when she got close.

"Yeah, Daryl's working." Emma said. Destiny smiled.

"Good. That means he'll be in for lunch." Destiny said excitingly, making Emma roll her eyes. "I need to run to the bathroom and make sure I'm ready for when he comes in. Cover my tables for me?"

Before Emma could even answer her, Destiny was gone. Emma sighed and shook her head. Not that she minded covering someone's tables for a few minutes but Destiny didn't really do much when she was at work to begin with. Most of Destiny's work shift was spent in the bathroom checking her makeup, texting, or talking to her friends, making everyone else do her work. The only reason she got to keep her job was because Emma's Aunt May and Uncle Bill owned the diner. They were friends with Destiny's parents, who they owed a favor.

When Ben, Merle, and Daryl came in for lunch, Emma saw Destiny check herself over in the mirror and adjust her shirt to show more cleavage before walking over to them. Merle looked up at her as he did every time she was working but Ben and Daryl continued to talk, completely ignoring that she had even walked over to their table.

"Hey there darlin'. Wanna get us the usual?" Merle said.

"Sure. Hi Daryl." Destiny said in her sweetest voice. Daryl responded with a grunt before Destiny hurried to the kitchen to put their order in. When she walked back into the dining area, Emma was talking to the boys. Destiny narrowed her eyes and quickly made her way over to their table.

"What ya doin' tonight?" Daryl asked Emma as Destiny approached the table.

"Working. We had a call off today and no one else could cover so I am pulling a double." Emma told him.

"That sucks. Was gonna see if ya wanted to go out tonight." Daryl said quietly, looking down at the table.

"I'm free tonight Daryl." Destiny said happily, making Emma glare at her. She told Aunt May that she had plans tonight so she couldn't work. Daryl looked up at Destiny.

"Ya are?" Daryl asked. Destiny smiled and nodded, thinking Daryl was going to ask her out. Daryl smiled. "Good. Ya can cover Emma's shift tonight then. What ya wanna do tonight Em?"

Emma's eyes widened and she had to try not to laugh as Destiny let out a frustrated and pissed off yell and stomped off. She walked in the back and Emma could hear her throwing stuff around. Emma turned back to Daryl who was grinning at her.

"Thanks Daryl. Now she's going to be an even bigger pain in the ass to work with." Emma said.

Daryl shrugged. "She's a pain in the ass anyway. Ya said she don't do nothin' while she's here. Tired of her walkin' all over ya and you're too nice to say somethin'."

Emma nodded and then walked away to wait on some of Destiny's tables. She didn't figure Destiny would be out for a while since Daryl blew her off. Emma really wished Daryl hadn't have done that so she didn't have to put up with Destiny but she knew he was right. Destiny took advantage of her.

"Ma'am, I ordered my food with that other waitress over 20 minutes ago and I still haven't got it." A woman told Emma. Emma smiled and nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to go to the kitchen right now and check on it. Is there anything else I can get you?" Emma offered.

"No thank you. Just my food would be great." The woman said.

"Sure. I'll be right back." Emma told her. Emma made her way to the kitchen to see what was going on with the customer's order. When she walked in the kitchen, one of the cooks, Robert, looked up frantically.

"Where is Destiny? She has four orders that have been sitting here." Robert told Emma.

Emma sighed. "Okay, okay. I'll take them out."

Emma grabbed customers' orders and started delivering them to tables as quickly as she could. Daryl watched Emma as she waited on her tables and Destiny's, running around and barely having a chance to catch her breath. He decided they were going to do something relaxing tonight. She needed it. Daryl looked towards the front door when he heard Amanda come in and talk to some customers. Amanda frowned and looked for Emma.

"What's going on?" Amanda asked as she walked over to Emma, who was serving a customer.

"Oh Amanda, thank God you're here. We're getting really backed up and Destiny is throwing another fit in the bathroom." Emma told her after she finished giving the customer their food.

"Okay, umm, my shift doesn't start for an hour but I'm sure you're Aunt May won't mind me clocking in early to help. Give me five minutes so I can change into my uniform and I will be out." Amanda promised.

"Thank you." Emma said before Amanda hurried to the bathroom to change. Emma sighed and turned to head back to the kitchen, almost running into Daryl. "Daryl."

"Hey, we gotta go back to work. I just wanna make sure ya ain't too mad at me." Daryl told her. Daryl hated Emma being mad at him for something. She was the only one that got to him like that and they both knew it. She laughed.

"No. I'm not mad Daryl, just very frustrated with Destiny right now. It'll be okay though. Amanda is here so she'll help. Aunt May is going to be thrilled to know Destiny is working a double. She is the only employee that never has." Emma told Daryl. She looked over when a couple more customers walked in and sat down. "I get off at 6:00 tonight so I'll see you when I get out. You tell me brother he better have my basement clean before I get home."

Daryl laughed as Emma walked over to the two customers that had just come in. He walked over to Ben and Merle, making sure to pass on the message to Ben before the three of them left.

Destiny finally showed up almost an hour later, just in time for Amanda's shift to start. She was surprised to see Amanda was already waiting tables and that she and Emma had gotten the diner back under control. She had purposely left at the busiest time of day, hoping to leave Emma in the lurch. She was angry that she had to work over, and even more angry that Daryl had blown her off the way he had. Destiny was not used to being ignored or rejected, and she wasn't about to let Daryl Dixon go that easily.

The rest of the day went smoothly with Emma and Amanda working together, even if Destiny didn't do much. When Emma's shift was over, she said her goodbyes to everyone, grabbed her stuff, and headed home. She felt bad for leaving Amanda with Destiny for the rest of the night but Monday's usually weren't too bad after dinner time.

When Emma got home, she saw Daryl's truck parked in her driveway. She laughed, rolled her eyes, and parked beside him. She got out of her car and walked inside to find Daryl digging in her fridge. She leaned on the counter beside him.

"What are you looking for Daryl?" Emma asked him. She laughed when he jumped and hit his head on one of the shelves.

"I didn' hear ya come in. When ya get so sneaky?" Daryl asked her, rubbing his head. "Lookin' for that damn tilapia ya supposedly put in here."

"It's in there. I shoved it way in the back in hopes to not smell it when I opened the fridge. If you eat that now though, I'm going to have to kick you out. Can't have you around me smelling like fish." Emma told Daryl. Daryl stood up holding the box of fish and raised his eyebrows at Emma.

"Ya serious?" He asked her. Emma nodded. "Alright. I'll just brush my teeth when I'm done then. My toothbrush is still in your bathroom."

"You're right, it is. You also have extra clothes in the dresser in the spare bedroom. I think that means you spend too much time here. Maybe you should just move in." Emma told Daryl as he started putting the food in the microwave. He stopped what he was doing and looked at her to see her smiling at him. "Yeah but I think I would go crazy if you lived here. I would never get away with anything. You would scare away all of my dates. At least now I can sneak some in without you knowing."

Daryl laughed and continued fixing his food while Emma went to her room to change her clothes. When she walked out, Daryl had just finished eating and threw the container away. He walked over to Emma like he was going to say something to her but she pushed him away and pointed to the bathroom. He laughed and walked to the bathroom and brushed his teeth, just like he promised.

"Get your ass ready, we're leavin'." Daryl yelled from the bathroom. Emma nodded to herself and put her shoes on.

"Where are we going?" She asked as he walked into the living room. Daryl smiled.

"The park." He said simply.

TWD

Emma and Daryl were on the merry go round, laying opposite each other with their heads next to each other. Daryl was spinning them slowly as they looked at the stars. Neither one of them talked much. They were both happy to just relax after a long day at work. Daryl sighed before he broke the silence.

"That time of year again ya know." Daryl said quietly. Emma closed her eyes and sighed.

"I know." She answered.

"Ya got your plane tickets yet?" He asked.

"Not yet. You going with us this year?" Emma asked him. Daryl nodded.

"Gone with ya to see your parents every year since I turned 18. Wouldn' miss it." Daryl told her. Emma smiled at him and they continued to look at the stars in silence.


	3. Late Night Swim

_Aww...Thank you everyone for the awesome reviews and all the adds. I hope you guys like this chapter. Let me know._

**_Please review._**

_Prom was something almost every senior looked forward to. It was supposed to be one of the best nights of every high school student's life. Yet, here was Emma, sitting at the table in her sequined navy blue prom dress...alone._

_She had just found out her boyfriend, Matt, was cheating on her with the head cheerleader. The girls that Emma hung out with were too busy socializing to realize there was something wrong with her, not that she would have talked to them anyway. She only liked them when she got tired of being around guys and wanted some girl time._

_Right now though, Emma just really wanted to go home. The only problem with that was she had no way of getting home. She and Matt rode together and her brother was helping Aunt May and Uncle Bill, who had just opened a diner. She was stuck here until prom was over. Then had to have the awkward drive home with Matt, if he would still drive her home. She groaned and put her head on the table._

_"What the hell are ya doin'?" Emma her someone say to her. She smiled to herself, she knew that voice. She picked her head up and looked at Daryl who sat down beside her._

_"What are you doing here? You told me you wouldn't get caught dead at a school dance, remember?" Emma asked Daryl._

_"I know but I changed my mind at the last minute and came anyway. Where's Matt?" Daryl asked her as he looked around for her boyfriend. Emma shrugged._

_"I don't know, he's here somewhere. If I had to guess, probably with Ashley Shaffer." Daryl stopped what he was doing to look at Emma. He didn't ask her for any more details. He didn't need to, he knew what she meant._

_"I'm gonna kill him." Daryl said quietly, making Emma look at him quickly._

_"No you're not. Don't do anything, please. I broke up with him so there's no reason to do anything. I just want to go home." Emma said. _

_Daryl sighed and nodded before standing up. Emma grabbed her hand bag and stood up. As the two of them walked towards the front door, Daryl saw Matt standing in the corner of the room making out with Ashley. He wanted to walk over and beat the shit out of Matt so bad but he didn't. Emma asked him not to do anything and he wouldn't...Not yet anyway._

_Emma was quiet for most of the car ride. She just sat in the passenger seat and stared out the window. Even though Emma played it off like she was okay, he knew Matt hurt her. Daryl hated Emma being upset and he was going to make sure no man ever hurt her again. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Emma speak._

_"Turn down this road." Daryl did what she said._

_"Where we goin'?" He asked her._

_"Jess's house. Ben just moved in with her a couple weeks ago." Emma answered._

_"They ain't been together that long to be movin' in together." Daryl commented._

_"Park on the road, we'll walk to their house." Emma said, making Daryl look at her. Emma just shrugged and smiled. "They're not home tonight. They're helping at the diner."_

_"Ya can' break into their house." Daryl said. Emma laughed._

_"I'm not breaking in. I have a key."_

_Daryl parked the truck on the road like she said and followed her to the house. She walked to the back of the house and opened the gate. Daryl followed her to the backyard and over to the pool. She took her shoes off and sat down on the edge of the pool, putting her feet in the water._

_"Want to go swimming Daryl?" Emma asked as she stood up. Daryl shook his head._

_"No way. I gotta return these clothes tomorrow." Emma smiled._

_"They'll dry." Emma said before pushing him in the pool. Her eyes got wide and she put her hand over her mouth, surprised she actually got him in the pool._

_"What the hell Em!" Daryl yelled as he made his way to the side of the pool. He put his hand up. "Ya pushed me in, help me out."_

_"Fine." Emma said, rolling her eyes at him. As soon as she took his hand, he pulled her in the pool. As soon as she surfaced, she was glaring at Daryl which made him laugh. "Not funny Daryl! Aunt May is going pissed if she finds out I went swimming in this dress which by the way, weighs a ton."_

_"Maybe ya should grow a few more inches so ya can reach the bottom of the pool then." Daryl teased._

_Emma slowly swam over to Daryl who was very obviously enjoying watching her struggle. He put his arm around her waist when she got close enough and pulled her to him so they were face to face. He stared at her, this new feeling washing over him. He never felt anything for Emma before, they were friends. As they stood in the pool; though, staring at each other, he wanted to kiss her. No, he didn't want to, he needed to. Everything in him was screaming to just man up and do it._

_As quick as the feeling came; though, it was gone. Next thing he knew, Emma was jumping out of the pool and dragging him out. Daryl thought he did something wrong until he looked at the house and realized why she was in a hurry. Ben and Jess were home._

_"Come on Daryl, hurry up before they see us." Emma whispered. She grabbed her shoes and ran to the gate with Daryl close behind._

_End Flashback_

Things at the diner were easier for Emma the next day with Destiny being off, which was good because Emma didn't feel good and it only seemed to be getting worse as the day went on. Emma and Amanda were in the back, preparing themselves for the lunch rush when Emma's phone vibrated. She looked at it, seeing she got a text from Daryl's work phone.

"In the middle of a job, can't come in for lunch today." Emma nodded to herself and closed her phone. When she turned around, Amanda was standing there smiling at her. "What?"

"You two are just such a cute couple." Amanda told her, making Emma laugh weakly.

"We're not together. We're just friends." Emma said, walking past Amanda.

"Really? You tell me right now that you're not in love with Daryl." Emma stopped walking and turned to face Amanda.

"I love Daryl, yes. He is my best friend. I am not IN love with Daryl though." Emma told her.

"Okay, okay. I believe you. It's so sad though. You are in love with Daryl and you don't even know it." Amanda said. Emma rolled her eyes at her and walked out to the dining area.

When the lunch rush was gone, Emma had felt like a truck had hit her. She was freezing, getting dizzy spells, and her whole body ached. Amanda had kept an eye on her as they worked. She wanted Emma to go home but knew she would refuse with them being busy. Now that the diner was clearing out, she was going to make Emma leave. When Emma walked in the back, Amanda was waiting for her.

"Sit down Emma. You look like shit." Amanda told her. Emma was too tired to argue so she did as she was told. Amanda put her hand on Emma's head. "Oh my gosh, Emma. You're burning up. I'm going to get May and Bill to take you home."

Amanda was gone before Emma could say anything. When she returned, Aunt May and Uncle Bill were with her just like she said they would be. Aunt May took Emma's apron from her while Uncle Bill grabbed her purse and walked Emma to the front of the diner and out the door. When they got outside, he helped her in his car and drove her home.

Once they got to her house, Uncle Bill helped Emma inside and to her bed. He went to the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer, Tylenol, and water and took it back to her room. He set the water on her nightstand and handed her the thermometer. After it beeped, Uncle Bill took the thermometer from her and sighed.

"103.7. Take your medicine." He told her as he handed her two pills and the water. Emma smiled at him after she swallowed the pills.

"I can take care of myself Uncle Bill. I am not a little kid anymore." Uncle Bill returned the smile and took her water from her.

"I know but you are stubborn. If Amanda wouldn't have said anything, you would have worked your whole shift and come in for tomorrow's."

"I'm still working tomorrow. You can't have Destiny run the diner by herself. She can barely cover her tables let alone cover the diner." Emma said, sitting up. Uncle Bill pushed her back so she was laying down.

"May will cover your shift tomorrow, you need to rest. Now go to sleep. I'll call you later to see how you're doing."

Uncle Bill pulled the covers over Emma, kissed her head, and left. Emma tossed and turned for half an hour after he left before finally throwing the blankets off her and getting out of bed. She was not one to just lay around and she wasn't going to start now. Just because she couldn't go to work, that didn't mean she couldn't do stuff around the house. Emma walked out of her room and to the living room, looking around. She had wanted to move furniture around for a while but never seemed to have the time for it.

When Daryl walked into Emma's house, that was exactly what he found her doing. He walked into the living room and saw her wearing a winter coat, trying to move her couch. Daryl sighed and shook his head at her.

"What are ya doin'?" Daryl asked from the doorway. Emma turned and smiled at him.

"Moving the furniture. Been talking about it for a while so I figured now was a good time. I took off tomorrow so I can work on stuff around the house." Emma lied. Daryl narrowed his eyes at her.

"Why are ya wearin' your coat? It ain't cold in here." Daryl said. Emma's smile faded when she realized she didn't have a good answer for him. Daryl grinned. "I think ya should get your ass in bed before ya get more sick."

"They told you." Emma said quietly.

"Yup. Bill and May called me. Now get your ass in bed." Daryl told her as he pulled her to her room.

"I'm not tired Daryl. Please just let me finish the living room and then I'll lay down." Emma suggested. Daryl laid her down in her bed and pulled the blankets over her.

"Sorry Em. Ya need to rest now. We'll finish the living room later." Daryl told her.

Daryl knew that if he left her, Emma would be back up and going again in minutes so he sat on her bed beside her and turned on her TV. He didn't have to sit there very long though before Emma fell asleep. He knew she wouldn't take long if she just laid there. He could see how tired she was, even if she denied it. He made sure she was warm enough before he left her room and walked out to the living room where he started moving the furniture around. He knew where she wanted it, she had talked about moving it for months.

When he was done, he went to the kitchen and got something to eat before going to the spare bedroom. Even if she didn't want him to and would fight him on it if she was awake, he was going to stay the night. May told him how high her fever was and he wanted to make sure it didn't get any worse. Tomorrow, he was going to call his boss, Tom, first thing and call off. Tom loved Emma so he would be okay with it. Whether Emma wanted him to or not, Daryl was sitting with her until she was better.


	4. Alone Time

_Today is Emma's eighteenth birthday and who is she spending it with? Ben and the Dixon's of course. They took her to Six Flags for a fun filled day of roller coasters, water rides, and food. As much as she loved the boys, she couldn't spend the day with just them so she invited Amanda. _

_Emma met Amanda when Aunt May hired her to work at the diner as a waitress. Amanda had just moved to Georgia from California so she didn't know anyone. The other staff members treated her like she was the new girl and didn't pay much attention to her. Emma remembered how she felt when she first moved here, away from her friends, her home. Though Amanda's reason for moving wasn't exactly the same, Emma was sure it was just as hard._

_The five of them had just got done riding The Great American Scream Machine and now were in the food court to get something to eat. Emma and Amanda were in line to get some hot dogs, chicken tenders, and fries while the boys were over getting ice cream and drinks. The two of them were talking as they waited in line but Amanda kept looking away from Emma and over at the tables._

_"Emma, I think that guy over there is staring at you." Amanda told her. Emma turned to see what she was talking about and sure enough, there was a man who looked to be a few years older than Emma watching her. Emma turned her back to him and looked at Amanda._

_"He's not my type. He is too boyish for me." Emma said.  
_

_"He's cute. You don't have a boyfriend right?" Amanda asked. Emma shook her head._

_"No and I don't want one either." Emma answered._

_"Well, he's coming over here." Amanda told her, making Emma groan._

_"Hello ladies. I'm Mark." The man said, extending his hand out. Amanda shook his hand._

_"Amanda and this is Emma." Amanda told him. Emma shook Mark's hand to be polite._

_"Hot day out today. Can I buy ya'll some ice cream?" Mark asked, looking at Emma._

_"No thanks. My boyfriend and his friends are buying us some right now." Emma said, nodding her head towards the boys. Mark looked down at the ground._

_"Oh, ya have a boyfriend."_

_"No she doesn't. She meant her friend. She just calls him that since they are so close." Amanda said, receiving a glare from Emma._

_"Oh, well I was just about to go on The Great American Scream Machine and I was wonderin' if ya would like to go on it with me." Mark said to Emma. Emma smiled politely at him._

_"I'm sorry, Mark, we just went on that ride." Emma said. Mark's eyes drifted from hers__ and he looked like he was thinking. She was willing to bet he was trying to find something else to do with her. Emma looked up and saw The Sky Coaster and smiled to herself. Emma was scared of heights and would never even think of going on it. Bungee jumping was a little too risky for Emma and if she was right about Mark, he wouldn't go for it either. "If you want to though, I was thinking of going on the Sky Coaster."_

_"The Sky Coaster?" Mark asked her with a smile. Emma nodded and pointed to the ride behind him. Mark turned to look at the ride and his smile faded. "Ya wanna go on that?"_

_"Yup. You want to go on with me?" Emma asked him. Mark turned to look at Emma._

_"I'm sorry. I can' go on that. That's a little too much for me." Mark told her. Emma nodded, putting on the best depressed face she could._

_"I understand." She told him. Mark smiled at her and walked away. Emma turned around and saw Amanda looking at her, very confused._

_"What was that?" Amanda asked._

_"I told you, he's too boyish for me and that just proved it. A real man would have gone on that with me." Emma told her. Amanda ordered the food and turned back to Emma at the same time Ben, Merle, and Daryl were coming behind Emma with their food._

_"So you're telling me if he would have gone on the Sky Coaster with you, you would have gone out with him?" Amanda asked._

_"Yup. If he really wanted me, he would have gone on it. I want to make sure any man of mine is willing to do anything for me." Emma told her. __Merle looked at Daryl who was smiling at Emma._

_"I'll go on the Sky Coaster with ya." Daryl said, making Emma jump and turn around. She stared at him with wide eyes._

_"You will? Uh, that's okay Daryl, you don't have to." Emma said. Daryl laughed and set the food down on a table before pulling Emma towards the ride._

_"Oh yeah I do. Think of it as payback for prom night." Daryl said._

_Emma tried to talk Daryl out of the ride but he wasn't hearing it. She tried apologizing for pushing him in the pool, negotiating, and bribing him but nothing was working. The line had moved fast to get on the ride, too fast for Emma. Before she knew what was happening, the man working the ride was strapping her and Daryl up. Emma was breathing hard and she could feel her heart slamming in her chest. She was so mad at Daryl for making her do this._

_Even though she had talked about bungee jumping or sky diving for a while, he knew Emma would never do it unless she was forced since she is afraid of heights. __Emma whined and closed her eyes when she felt her feet leave the ground. Daryl looked over at her and couldn't help but feel a little guilty for making her do this. He sighed and reached for her hand, making her open her eyes and look at him. He smiled at her and she did her best to smile back at him, squeezing his hand as they dropped._

___End flashback_

Daryl went to Emma's room to check on her first thing the next morning, happy to see she was still sleeping. She must have gotten hot some time in the middle of the night because she had kicked the blankets off and she was stripped down to a tank top and boy shorts. He groaned and pulled the blankets over her before walking back to the spare bedroom.

Emma woke up the next morning feeling just as bad as the day before. She rolled out of bed and grabbed the empty glass on her nightstand before starting towards the kitchen to get some water to take more Tylenol. She stopped when she heard a noise come from the spare bedroom. She took a deep breath and opened the door but nothing could prepare her for what was on the other side.

Daryl was sitting on the edge of the bed with his pants undone and pulled down slightly. The angle Emma was at prevented her from seeing much but she could tell by his arm movement and quiet yet steady moans what he was doing. Daryl must have heard her walk in because he immediately stopped what he was doing and started covering himself.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry." Emma said as she quickly walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Emma hurried, almost running, to her bedroom. She shut the door, set the still empty glass down on her nightstand, and laid down on her stomach with her face in her pillow. In the twenty years she had known Daryl, she had embarrassed herself and seen him embarrassed a lot. Nothing could compare to what just happened though.

About half an hour later, she heard her bedroom door open and Daryl walk inside. Even though she didn't look at him, she could tell he was just as traumatized as she was. Instead of sitting on the bed like he normally would have, he leaned on her dresser. He didn't say anything. He just stood there, unsure of what to say or if he should even say anything.

"I was going to get water to take more medicine. I heard a noise in the room. You're supposed to be at work, I didn't know you were here until I walked in the room and..." Emma started saying, her face still in the pillow.

"I don' wanna talk 'bout it." Daryl said quickly, cutting her off. "Ya get your water?"

"No." Emma answered.

Daryl stood there for a minute before he moved from her dresser and took the empty glass from her nightstand. He walked out of her room and to the kitchen. He got her water and some crackers and walked back to her room. Emma was no longer hiding in her pillow when Daryl walked in. She was sitting up with her back against her headboard with two pills in her hand. She smiled when he walked over to her and handed her the water and crackers before leaning on her dresser. Emma set the crackers on the nightstand and took the Tylenol. She set the glass down and laid down, making Daryl narrow his eyes at her.

"Ain't ya gonna eat somethin'? When I talked to May yesterday, she said she ain't seen ya eat nothin' all day."

"I'm not hungry." Emma told him.

"Alright. Just leave them crackers there then. I want ya to try to eat somethin' later." Daryl said. Emma nodded at him. She could tell Daryl was still upset about what happened earlier. He was biting his nail and he only did that when something really bothered him.

"You know, it's okay to need alone time." Emma said.

Daryl lowered his hand and raised his eyebrows. "What?"

Emma shrugged. "It's okay, there's nothing wrong with it. Hell, I need alone time too."

Daryl's mouth opened to say something, then shut again. Emma knew she was freaking him out so she decided to continue with it. "Yeah, there are some days I need to be alone two or three times a day which is really hard when you're always here so you know. Fortunately, I can have some help from my vibrator if I need it."

"Your what?" Daryl asked her in disbelief.

Emma smiled. "My vibrator. I keep it in my dresser."

Daryl quickly moved from her dresser and walked to the bedroom door and back towards Emma who was trying her hardest not to laugh.

"What the hell Em! Are ya fuckin' with me?" Daryl asked in a panic.

"Yeah, I am. There's nothing in my dresser." She laughed, making her close her eyes and groan immediately after.

Daryl walked over and sat on her bed. "See what ya get. Ya shouldn' fuck with someone like that."

Emma smiled at him with her eyes still closed. He pulled the blankets over her and picked up the empty glass. "Go back to sleep, ya look exhausted."

"Yeah, messing with you took a lot out of me." Emma said.

Daryl sighed and rolled his eyes. He sat with her for a few minutes until she fell asleep. He moved her hair from her face and bent over to kiss her head before he walked out of the room.


	5. Secrets and Fears

_Hahaha. Seems everyone felt bad for poor Daryl. I couldn't even imagine getting caught like he did. That would be the worst._

_Anyone have idea for a flashback for Emma and Daryl? Hit me up and let me know._

**_Please review._**

_Emma was sitting in the living room with the phone in her hand. She hated this time of year. She thought that things would get easier over time but it had been three years and going to the cemetery to see her parents was still hard for her. This year was going to be the hardest one yet. Her brother had just moved in with his girlfriend, so she would be going with him. Aunt May and Uncle Bill weren't going since they opened the diner and Emma had no other family. She was going alone._

_Emma was just about to dial the number to order her plane ticket when she heard a knock at the front door. Sitting the phone down, she walked to the door. She smiled at the man on the other side of the door who returned her smile and walked in the house._

_"You know, you don't have to knock Daryl." Emma told him._

_"Yeah, May told me that but I don' feel right just walkin' in her house. Ya get your own place and I'll stop knockin'." Daryl said as he leaned on the counter. He saw the phone out along with a pen and paper sitting on the countertop. "What're ya doin'?"_

_"I was going to order my plane ticket and then call to reserve a hotel room." Emma answered._

_"That time of year already?" Daryl asked. Emma nodded. "I thought Ben ordered tickets for ya'll."_

_"He did order tickets, for him and Jess. I'm going by myself this year." Emma said._

_Daryl narrowed his eyes as he thought. "He's really goin' with his girlfriend instead of his sister?"_

_Emma laughed. "Yeah, it's okay though. I don't think I really want to share a hotel room with those two anyway."_

_Daryl scrunched up his face at the thought. "Probably not." Daryl started playing with the pen that was sitting on the counter as he continued talking. "Umm...I just, I'm eighteen now and I don' need my dad's permission to leave now so..."_

_"Spit it out Dixon." Emma told him._

_"I'll go with ya to Pennsylvania to see your parents. I mean, if ya want." Daryl said quickly._

_"Why would you want to go?" Emma asked him._

_"Ya wanna go alone?" Daryl asked. Emma shook her head. "That's why. Besides, you're my friend. I wouldn' let ya go alone."_

_Daryl had to fight back a groan when Emma smiled and threw her arms around him. He was really hoping that his feelings for her would pass but they just seemed to be getting stronger. At this point, all physical contact with Emma was getting painful for Daryl but he craved it. He found himself doing anything he could to make her smile. He loved seeing her happy._

_TWD_

_Daryl and Emma were sitting on the plane, waiting for takeoff. Daryl had never been on a plane before and though he would never tell Emma, it scared the shit out of him. He wasn't doing a very good job hiding it though. He kept bouncing his leg and playing with his seatbelt, Emma knew. When they announced the plane was about to take off, Emma swore Daryl was going to start crying. He looked at her when he felt her grab his hand._

_"Relax Daryl. It's only a two hour flight. We'll be in Pennsylvania before you know it." Emma said._

_Daryl laughed nervously. "Doubt that."_

_Daryl looked out the window and brought his free hand to his mouth. Emma squeezed his hand to get his attention. "Seriously, it'll be fine. The chance of a plane crashing is like one in 600,000. You have a better chance of getting in a car accident."_

_"Think that makes me feel better? It don'. Still a chance ain't there?" Daryl said._

_Emma smiled and nodded. "Tell you what, Daryl. If you still hate flying after we get there, we'll rent a car and drive back to Georgia."_

_Daryl took a deep breath and closed his eyes when the plane took off. Emma couldn't help but laugh to herself. There was this man sitting next to her who had no problem free falling with nothing but a rope to catch him but the idea of flying on an airplane scared him. Emma got as comfortable as she could in her seat and laid her head on Daryl's shoulder._

_Even though he couldn't see anything but clouds most of the time, Daryl stared out the window for most of the flight. __As much as Daryl hated to admit it, flying wasn't that bad. He was thankful that he was still a little tense though; he wasn't ready for Emma to move away from him just yet._

___After they got off the plane and got their bags from the airport, Daryl and Emma headed to the hotel. They checked in and went up to their room. When everything was situated in their room, Emma told Daryl she was going to go out and get them something to eat while he took his shower._

___Emma walked outside and to the convenience store that was across the street. She grabbed them some sandwiches, drinks, and snacks and walked back over to the hotel. Daryl had his back to her and was digging in his bag, looking for a shirt when Emma walked in the room. Her eyes got wide and she dropped her bag when she saw him. He had scars all over his back and when he stood up and turned to face her, she could see them on his chest too._

___"Daryl?" Emma didn't have to say anything else. He knew what she was questioning._

___"Ain't nothin'." He said quietly._

___"What the hell do you mean it's nothing?" Emma snapped at him, making him jump slightly. Emma never got mad or yelled, at least not at him. After a few minutes of silence, Emma closed her eyes and shook her head. "Fine, don't tell me."_

___Without another word to Daryl, Emma picked up the bag of food and set it on the dresser. She walked over to her bed and lay down with her back to him. She couldn't believe he would keep something this big from her. They didn't have secrets or, at least, she hadn't thought they did. She heard Daryl move to turn the light off. A few seconds later, she felt her bed shift when he sat down on it but she still didn't look at him._

___"My dad did it." Daryl told her. She sat up and looked at him through the dark. "He did it to Merle too. We ain't home enough now for him to do nothin' so things are okay now. I know I shoulda told ya 'bout it but I just couldn'."_

___"It's okay, I get why you didn't. I just hate having secrets." Emma said, trying to keep her voice steady. She didn't want Daryl to know how much the thought of him getting hurt upset her. He still couldn't handle crying and talking about feelings very well but he was slowly coming around._

___"Don' worry, I ain't got no more secrets." Daryl told her._

___End Flashback_

Emma spent the next two days in her bed with Daryl watching her every move. She knew he was right; she would never sit still if he left but it didn't make her feel any better about being babysat. By the end of the second day, Emma was feeling much better. She still wasn't eating much but her temperature had gone down and she was moving around more.

After a lot of begging, she had finally talked Daryl into taking her to the diner for dinner. They were sitting together at the table when Destiny came over.

"You don't look very sick to me Emma." Destiny said before turning to Daryl. "Hi Daryl. You want the usual?"

Emma rolled her eyes at Destiny from behind the menu she was pretending to look at. Daryl had caught it though. "No. Ya can bring me a coke and Em wants a water. Give us a few minutes to look though."

"Okay Daryl, just let me know when you're ready for me and I'll come for you." Destiny told him before she walked away.

"Oh my God. What a slut!" Emma said to herself.

"What the hell Em? That ain't like ya to say stuff like that. She was bein' nice. What'd she do?" Daryl asked.

"Really? How can you not see it? She is so hitting on you." Emma told him.

Daryl looked at her and shook his head. "You're crazy. She ain't hittin' on me."

"You seriously never noticed all the extra attention she gives you or the sweet yet seductive 'Hi Daryl's' or how about the 'let me know when you're ready for me and I'll come for you'." Emma said.

Daryl looked down at the table and started biting his thumb nail as he thought. "Guess I never noticed it before. Never thought 'bout her like that."

Emma laughed. "Typical man, doesn't know when someone likes them, no matter how many signs the girl throws at them."

"Ain't just men ya know. Women don' always get it either." Daryl told her.

"Oh please. Women always pick up on stuff like that. It's like our sixth sense or something." Emma responded.

"Not always." Daryl said quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Emma asked.

Daryl shook his head. "Don' mean nothin'. Just women don' always know either, that's all."

Emma wasn't quite sure why Daryl said that but she knew it had to mean something. Daryl didn't just say things just to say them. Emma didn't think any more of it when Destiny came back over. She leaned over to put their drinks on the table, making sure Daryl could get a good view of her cleavage before taking their orders.

After Destiny left to put their orders in the kitchen, Daryl sat there for a few minutes, biting his thumb nail and thinking. "Ya think I should go out with her?"

Emma looked up at him quickly. "With who? Destiny?" Daryl nodded. "Hell no. She's not your type."

Daryl furrowed his brow. "How do ya know what my type is?"

Emma laughed. "Because you...you...You know, now that I think about it, I've never seen you with a girlfriend." Daryl shrugged and drank some of his Coke. "It doesn't matter. Destiny is no one's type. She isn't a nice girl Daryl. She would screw you over any way she possibly could. If you really want to go out with someone; though, Amanda and I can always go girl shopping for you."

Though Daryl was thrilled Emma objected to him going out with Destiny, that wasn't exactly the answer he was hoping for. "No thanks. I'm already workin' on someone."


	6. Adam

_Okay, so I have 49 different people either following my story or have it in their favorites but I am getting the same six reviewers every chapter. In order to get the next chapter, I want at least two different people to review. The six of you who have been reviewing, keep it up._

_As always, thank you to everyone who is reading and so sorry for the delay._

**_Please review._**

_Emma, Amanda, and Jess were sitting at the bar on Friday night, having a few drinks. Emma had just turned twenty-one earlier in the week so the girls wanted to take her out. At this point, Emma was way above her drinking limit so she didn't object when a man started buying her drinks, and according to the other two girls, getting way too hands on. When Emma started making out with the man, though Jess took went to the pay phone and called Ben._

_Jess and Ben didn't live far from the bar and within 20 minutes, Ben, Daryl, and Merle all walked in. Ben sat down next to Jess while Merle ordered himself a drink at the bar. They both seemed completely calm with having to pick up Emma. Daryl on the other hand looked pissed._

_"Where is she?" Daryl asked Jess._

_Jess pointed to the back of the bar. "She's in the back making out with some guy she just met here. She's talking about going home with him."_

_Daryl was walking towards the back of bar before Jess even finished talking. When he spotted Emma, she was at a table in the back, practically sitting on the man's lap. By the time Daryl got over to them, he was he was seeing nothing but red. He pulled Emma off the man and started dragging her out of the bar._

_"What the hell, Daryl!" Emma yelled as she struggled to get free. "Let me go!"_

_Daryl didn't stop walking though. He just continued to pull Emma towards the front door. "You're goin' home."_

_"Maybe she don't wanna go home!" The man Emma was making out with told Daryl._

_Ben and Merle just sat at the bar with their drinks and watched Daryl trying to drag Emma out of the bar with the man behind them, yelling at Daryl. When the stranger realized that shouting was getting him nowhere, he grabbed Daryl's arm and wrenched him to a stop. Before anyone knew what was happening, Daryl turned and landed a hard blow to the man's teeth, forcing him back. Regaining his balance, the stranger spit out some blood._

_"Don' ya ever touch me!" Daryl yelled at the man._

_"Seriously Daryl?" Emma yelled at him before storming out of the bar._

_Daryl sighed and walked out of the bar after her. When he got outside, she was already walking down the road, in the opposite direction of __her house_. He got in his truck and started down the road after her.

_"Hey! Where the hell are ya goin?" Daryl yelled out his truck window when he caught up with her._

_"I'm going home." She told him._

_Daryl stopped the truck and got out. He walked over to Emma and led her to the truck. "You're goin' the wrong way."_

_The drive to her house was far from quiet. Emma had the radio turned up as loud as Daryl would allow and she was singing to every song it played. When Daryl got to Emma's house, he pulled in the driveway and held his hand out to Emma._

_"Where are your keys?" Daryl asked her._

_"In my purse." Emma slurred._

_Daryl looked around in the truck for her purse. "Where's your purse?"_

_Emma sat there, tilting her head from one side to the other as she thought. After a minute, she started giggling uncontrollably and Daryl knew exactly where her purse was. He put the truck in reverse, pulled out of her driveway, and started towards his trailer._

_When he got to his trailer, Merle's bike was parked in front of it so he knew his brother was there. He looked over to Emma who looked like she was ready to fall asleep at any second. Once he got out of the truck, he walked over to the passenger side and helped her out. He was honestly surprised he didn't have to carry her in the trailer with how drunk she was._

_When they got in the trailer, Daryl saw Merle sitting on the couch watching TV. He looked over at Daryl and Emma and laughed._

_"Forget somethin' at the bar baby brother?" Merle asked, holding Emma's purse out to him._

_Daryl took the purse with one hand, while holding onto Emma with the other. "Thanks. Remind me to talk to her 'bout makin' me a key."_

_Daryl led Emma down the hall and to his room. He sat her down on the bed and walked over to put her purse on his dresser._

_"Sometimes I really hate being friends with you." Emma told him, making him turn around to look at her. "Yeah, I'm going to die a virgin because of you."_

_Daryl's eyes got wide. He didn't know how to respond to that. Inside, he was jumping for joy to find out that she had never been with a man before but at the same time, he was shocked she hadn't. Then he was pissed to know that if he hadn't have done something, she would have gone home with someone she just met at the bar._

_"I can' believe ya were gonna go home with that guy! Ya know how stupid that is?" Daryl yelled at her._

_"Well, what did you want me to do Daryl? Nobody I know will go out with me. You, Merle, and Ben made sure of that." Emma said._

_Daryl nodded. He knew she was right. The three of them had scared away anyone she tried to go out with. He walked over and sat down on the bed next to her. "That still don' mean ya can go home with strange men."_

_"Fine. Then there's only one other option. We need to have sex." Emma told him._

_Daryl looked at her quickly. "What?"_

_Emma smiled. "Me and you. I am not going to die a virgin and obviously it isn't going to happen any other way."_

_"Em, no. You're drunk and Merle is right in the other room." Daryl said, trying to convince himself to not do it as much as he was her._

_Emma shrugged. "Guess you'll just have to be quiet then."_

_Daryl didn't even have time to tell her no before her mouth was on his. His mind shut down and he couldn't think about anything but her. He could taste her cinnamon lip gloss and the Green Apple Smirnoff that she was drinking right before she left the bar. He knew he shouldn't be kissing her but he couldn't help it. He groaned when she slipped her tongue in his mouth. _

_Then, just like that, it was over. Daryl sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he looked down at Emma who was now passed out in his lap. He shifted her from his lap and adjusted her in his bed before pulling his blankets over her. He swore to himself to never mention this night to anyone, especially her._

_End Flashback_

Emma was never so happy to go back to work. As much as she liked being off with Daryl for the last few days, she was looking forward to getting back to her normal schedule. Daryl had made sure Emma's first day back was a slower day as she was still not quite back to herself. She still wasn't eating much and got tired very quickly.

Emma sat down at one of the tables after the lunch rush, which fortunately wasn't their normal rush. She was tired and wanted to go home but she knew if she did, Daryl, Aunt May, and Uncle Bill would make her take more days off.

Today was the day. Daryl had been fighting with himself for years, trying to convince himself to tell Emma how he really felt about her. He knew Ben wouldn't be very happy about what Daryl was going to do but he couldn't take being friends with her anymore. It was killing him.

When he walked in the diner he saw Emma sitting by herself at one of the tables. She looked exhausted from working all day and he was hoping to convince her to go home early. He wouldn't tell her but he had taken off of work a couple extra days just in case she didn't feel up to staying at work all day.

Emma looked up when she heard Daryl walk in. She smiled at him as he made his way over to her. His stomach was in knots and his breathing unsteady. He couldn't remember the last time he had been so nervous about something. He sat down in the seat across from Emma.

"How ya holdin' up?" Daryl asked.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "I know what you're thinking but I'm not going home. Honestly though, today sucks. This has been one of the longest days of my life."

"Ya sure I can' talk ya into leavin'?" Daryl asked, making Emma laugh and shake her head.

Amanda walked over to their table with a water and soup, putting it in front of Emma. Emma rolled her eyes after Amanda walked away. Amanda had been pushing fluids on her all day and though Emma understood why, she was tired of being watched over so closely.

Daryl turned his head towards the door when he heard it open. He couldn't believe who had just walked in. "Son of a bitch."

Emma looked up from her soup that she had started playing with. "What?"

"Hi Emma." Emma heard someone say.

Emma looked over to the man standing next to their table, a man she thought she would never see again. Adam was Emma's boyfriend about a year ago. The two of them dated for almost three years before Adam moved to Texas for a new job, leaving Emma behind. Daryl was at Emma's for months, helping her get over Adam.

Daryl never understood why Emma dated Adam in the first place. He wasn't mean to her by any means but he never did anything for her either. Adam was the kind of boyfriend who put himself first. Sure he did nice things for Emma and was there for her but it was always on his time. Daryl hated Adam and although he hated seeing Emma so upset, he was thrilled when Adam moved out of the state.

"Adam, what are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"I'm back but only for a few weeks." Adam told Emma. He shifted his eyes to Daryl who was glaring at him before looking back at Emma. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Umm, yeah sure." Emma stood up and followed Adam across the diner to an empty table. She made sure to sit facing Daryl to keep an eye on him. She knew Daryl hated Adam and she didn't want him to try anything.

"You look good Emma." Adam said to her after he sat down.

Emma looked at Adam. "Thanks. So what do you want to talk about?"

Adam noticed Emma was being a little short with him and he didn't blame her. He was sure she was still upset with him for leaving her. "So I've been thinking...about us. I know that I hurt you when I left. I told you that my career had to come first but I was wrong. Emma, I can't live without you. I want you to come back to Texas with me."


	7. Leaving

_Holy cow! Lots of reviews. Love it! It made me want to write this chapter quicker. I'm sorry everyone hates Adam (not really). I kind of hate Adam too. Please don't hate me for this next chapter._

**_Please review._**

_Daryl was in the kitchen making omelets and coffee while Emma got ready for work. He had just spent the night at her house, sleeping in her spare bedroom. Though the two of them had been friends for years, sleeping at her house was something he had just started doing._

_When the coffee was done, he got her cup ready and set it on the counter. He was getting his cup out when he heard her walk down the hall._

_Daryl held the coffee cup out to her when she walked in the kitchen. __"Here Em, you're coffee creamer with a splash of coffee."_

_Emma laughed. "Smart ass. What'd you make me?"_

_"Ham and cheese." Daryl responded, handing her the omelet._

_Emma took a bite and smiled. "Don't you think it's a little sad that you can make me food and know exactly what I like? I think this means we spend too much time together."_

_Daryl shook his head. "No it don', just means you're predictable."_

_After eating, Emma and Daryl headed outside to Daryl's truck. On the nights that Daryl slept over, he gave her a ride to the diner on his way to work._

_When they got to the diner, they saw Ben walking out the front door. He walked over to Daryl's truck as Emma go out. He walked over to Emma and handed her the keys to Aunt May and Uncle Bill's car._

_"Here Emma, take these back in to Aunt May and Uncle Bill will ya? I'll just get a ride with Daryl to work since he is here." Ben said._

_"Where's your car?" Emma asked._

_"Jess is driving it. She is getting the oil changed in her car." Ben answered._

_Emma waved to the two boys as Ben got in Daryl's truck. After she walked inside, Daryl pulled out of the parking lot and headed towards work. Ben and Daryl sat in silence for a few minutes. Ben had wanted to get Daryl alone to talk to him and he guessed this was a good time to do it._

_"So...you and Emma, you've been spending a lot of time together lately." Ben started._

_"Yeah, we've always spent a lot of time together." Daryl said._

_"I know but now you're spending the night at her house. I know the two of you are just friends and I just want to make sure it stays that way. I don't want you trying anything with my sister. You, Merle, and Amanda are the only people outside of family that she can depend on and I don't want to risk that being ruined so you can get laid." Ben told Daryl._

_"I wouldn' do that to Emma. I couldn' hurt her like that." Daryl said._

_Ben nodded. "I know you wouldn't hurt her. That's why I know you'll promise me to never be anything more than friends with her."_

_Daryl didn't want to make that promise to Ben. He was in love with Emma and the more he tried to fight it, the stronger his feelings for her got. Ben was his friend though and Daryl could understand where Ben was coming from. As much as Daryl hated to do it..."I promise, never anythin' more than friends."_

_End Flashback_

Emma had been going crazy the last few weeks, trying to figure out what she was going to do. She still hadn't said anything to Daryl about Adam wanting her to go to Texas. She knew Daryl would be pissed because he hated Adam so she didn't want to upset him if she didn't have to. It was getting time for her to make her decision though; Adam was leaving in three days.

Daryl got out of the truck and started walking towards Tom's office to give him the truck keys. Daryl was tired after working outside all day and he couldn't wait to just go home and relax until Emma got off. The door to Tom's office opened just as Daryl reached it. Adam closed the door behind him and smiled at Daryl.

"What the hell are ya doin' here?" Daryl asked Adam.

"I'm friends with Tom. Just thought I would see him one more time before I go back to Texas. Don't know when the next time I'm coming back, so want to make sure to see everyone before I leave." Adam responded.

"Too bad, I was really lookin' forward to seein' ya again soon." Daryl said as he walked around Adam, towards Tom's office.

"Well, you can always come see us. I'm sure Emma would like that." Adam told him, making Daryl still his movements.

"What?"

"Emma didn't tell you?" Adam asked. Daryl shook his head. "Oh, well let me catch you up. When I got here, I asked her to move back to Texas with me. We leave in three days; I'm surprised she hasn't said anything yet."

Daryl couldn't believe Emma would not tell him something like this, she told him everything. He turned away from Adam and walked inside the office. He put the truck keys on Tom's desk without a word to Tom and walked out towards his truck. He thought about going to the diner and taking out how he was feeling on her but he wouldn't do that to Emma. He would just go home and give himself time to cool off before talking to her.

When he pulled in front of his trailer, he saw Merle's bike and Emma's car there. He swore to himself and got out of the truck. When he walked inside, he saw Emma and Merle sitting on the couch. Emma looked up at Daryl and smiled. When he didn't smile at her though, she knew something was wrong.

Merle stood up and walked to the front door. "I'll just leave ya two alone. Talk to ya guys later."

"Daryl, I need to talk to you about something." Emma said, standing up.

"Don' bother, I already know. Adam told me." Daryl said quietly.

Emma nodded. "Oh, I guess I don't have to fill you in then. So, what do you think?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes at her. "A little late to be askin' me now ain't it? Ya shoulda talked to me when he first said somethin' 'bout movin'."

Emma took a step towards Daryl. "I know but I'm asking you now and..."

"And nothin'. Ya wanna run away with that asshole, have a fun time." Daryl said, raising his voice slightly.

"But Daryl..." Emma started.

Daryl cut her off again, this time yelling at her. "Just leave! I don' need ya here! Maybe with ya gone I can actually get on with my own life instead of always havin' to be in yours!"

Emma took a step back, surprised and hurt that Daryl had actually yelled at her. He wouldn't even listen to her. She couldn't understand what was going on, this was so unlike Daryl. They had fights before but they were always able to just talk it out and things were fine. Figuring she wasn't going to get him to listen, she walked around Daryl and out the door.

TWD

Daryl sat in front of his living room window, staring outside at the rain. Today was the day Emma was moving away and even though he knew he should see her before she left, he couldn't bring himself to do it. Daryl looked at the headlights heading towards his trailer and immediately recognized Merle's truck. When he got to the trailer, he threw his truck and park and jumped out. He looked pissed as he hurried inside the trailer.

"What the fuck is wrong with ya? The girl you're in love with is leavin' and you're just gonna let her go?" Merle yelled.

"Ain't like I had much of a choice Merle! She chose to go. I ain't gonna try to change her mind, I'd lose her." Daryl told him.

"You're losin' her now! Ya need to get your ass over there before she leaves! Ya need to tell her!" Merle continued to yell at Daryl.

Daryl shook his head. "I can'. She wants to be with Adam. She's movin' to Texas to be with him."

"No ya fuckin' idiot! She's movin' to Texas 'cause ya told her to!" Merle yelled.

Daryl laughed. "No, she's movin' to Texas 'cause of Adam. She didn' even tell me 'bout it 'till a couple days ago. I found out from Adam that she was leavin'."

The more Merle tried to talk to Daryl, the more pissed he got. He just couldn't get Daryl to understand what was happening. Merle took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down before trying again. "Okay, ya need to listen to me very carefully. She was not goin' to tell ya she was goin' with him. She was over the other day to tell ya he asked her and wanted to know what ya thought of it. She was goin' to make her decision based on what ya said and ya told her to leave."

Daryl turned to look at Merle. "She wasn' gonna go? But...but Adam said..."

"Adam lied." Merle said.

Daryl closed his eyes and sighed. "I gotta go."

Daryl got in the truck and drove towards Emma's house as fast as he could. He knew Emma would be leaving today but he didn't know what time. He just prayed he wasn't too late.

He pulled in Emma's driveway and was relieved to see her lights were on in the house and the front door way open. She was still here. He got out of the truck and started walking towards the house. He heard a car and looked back at her driveway to see a cab had parked in it.

"Em!" Daryl yelled when he got inside. He looked around the house for Emma before he found her in her room. "Em."

Emma turned around and saw Daryl standing in her doorway. "Go away Daryl. I'm kind of busy right now."

"I need to talk to ya." Daryl said.

"I tried to talk to you, remember? I'll tell you what, I'll call you when I get to Texas then we'll talk." Emma told him. She picked up a bag and started walking out of her room.

"Em please." Daryl pleaded. When she didn't stop, Daryl started to panic. "Em...I'm in love with ya."

Emma had stopped walking but her back was still to him. He walked over to her and turned her around to face him. Her eyes were closed and she was taking short, heavy breaths.

"Em?" Daryl asked quietly. Emma took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Daryl rested his forehead against hers and brought his hands to the sides of her face. "Em, please don' leave. I love ya."

She didn't say anything but she didn't show any signs she was going to leave either. He moved in slowly, not wanting to push her away but giving her enough time to tell him to stop if she wanted. She remained still when his lips made contact with hers. After a minute, though she dropped the bag she was holding and wrapped her arms around neck, pulling him closer. She sighed when his tongue met hers. His hands dropped from her face and down to her waist. Emma slid her hands from his neck down the front of his chest and pushed him away.

Emma shook her head and picked up her bag. "I'm sorry Daryl. It's just, you're too late. I'm leaving, it's too late. I'm sorry."

Without another word, Daryl watched as Emma walked outside and to the cab. He walked out after her and watched as she put her bag in the trunk and gave Daryl one last look before getting in the cab.

TWD

Daryl was sitting on his couch by himself with a beer in hand. He was pissed at Emma for leaving and he was pissed at himself for letting her. He looked up at the clock and sighed. Emma was was well on her way to Austin with Adam by now.

Daryl groaned when he heard someone knock on his door. He knew it was Merle, Daryl was expecting him to show up. Merle had called Daryl earlier, trying to get him to go out to get his mind off of things but Daryl just wanted to be alone.

"Go away." Daryl yelled from the couch. He heard Merie knock again. "Merle! Go away!"

Daryl got pissed when he heard a knock on the door the third time. He got up from the couch and a walked over to the door, ready to kick Merle's ass. He set the beer down on the TV stand and opened the door.


	8. Saying Goodbye

_Hey, I told everyone not to be mad at me! LOL. I knew you all wouldn't be happy about the last chapter._

_Thank you for all the reviews and adds._

**_WeasleyTwinLove23:_** _I do plan on doing a two part story like The Beginning. This one will be pre-ZA and Just Friends: Part Two will be during the ZA._

**_Please review._**

Emma's POV

Emma threw her bag in the back of the cab and closed the trunk. She looked over at Daryl who had just walked outside and was now standing in the rain, watching her every move. She gave him a sad smile before getting in the cab.

"To the airport please." Emma told the cab driver, who's ID tag said his name was Ken.

Emma looked out the window at Daryl who hadn't moved from his spot. She felt awful for leaving Daryl while he was so upset. She knew he had to be heart broken and she would give anything to fix it. Knowing he was hurting because of her made it that much worse.

Emma didn't say anything as the cab left her house. She just continued to stare out the window as she thought. The memory of the kiss and Daryl's words kept playing over and over in her head. She should have known. How did she miss something like that? The more she thought about it, she realized the signs were all there.

Every time he went out, he always checked with her first or at least let her where he was going. And if she ever went out, he had to know where she was going, who she was going with, and what time she would be back. Every time Daryl sabotaged a relationship, he wasn't trying to protect her. He was making sure she stayed single. She never saw him with a girlfriend. In fact, she never even heard of him being with a girl at all. Now she knew why. Everything he did, he did with her in mind.

Ken stopped the car at a red light and turned to look back at Emma. They had been driving for almost half an hour and she hadn't said a word to him. She looked upset and he could see she was deep in thought about something. "Where ya goin'?"

Emma shifted her gaze from the window to look at him. "I'm sorry?"

"I'm takin' ya to the airport. Ya goin' on vacation?" He asked as the traffic light turned green.

Emma shook her head. "No, I'm moving to Texas with my boyfriend."

"Oh, he finishin' up some stuff here first then meetin' ya there or somethin'?" He asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. When she looked at him like she was confused, he continued. "The man standin' outside, he's your boyfriend?'

"Oh, no. No, he's not my boyfriend. He's just a friend." Emma told him.

"Ah, well he looked pretty upset 'bout ya leavin' to just be a friend." Ken said.

"Yeah. He just told me that he's in love with me." Emma said quietly. The two of them drove in silence for a few minutes before Emma spoke again. "Can he do that? I mean, we've been friends since we were kids and then one day he just decides to tell me he is in love with me. Now I'm not stupid, I know it just didn't happen overnight and he has probably had these feelings for a long time but he never said anything to me before. He has had twenty years to say something and he chooses the day that I'm moving out of the state."

Ken laughed to himself at Emma's rambling. "I'm guessin' you two are close?"

Emma nodded and smiled. "Yeah. He's my best friend. We've done everything together since we were fifteen. We know everything about each other down to what size clothes we wear."

"Well, I'm just gonna take a guess that he probably didn' want to take the chance on ruinin' your friendship. Ya have no idea how many friends think it's a good idea to try dating each other and how many friendships get ruined cuz of it. If he really loves ya, he would do anything to keep ya around. Even if it meant never bein' with ya." Ken told her.

Ken drove slowly through the airport parking lot, trying not to hit any pedestrians as they ran to catch their flights. When he was finally able to make it to the front of the building, he parked the cab and turned in his seat to face Emma.

"So, let me ask ya somethin' honey. Do ya love your boyfriend?" Ken asked.

Emma's mouth dropped open and eyes got wide. "Wow! That's kind of a personal question isn't it?"

Ken nodded. "It is personal but the whole conversation has been personal. The way I see it, if ya loved your boyfriend ya would have answered without hesitation, no matter who was asking ya. So, what are ya runnin' from?"

Emma tilted her head, confused by the question. "What do you mean what am I running from? I'm not running from anything."

"Ya don' love your boyfriend but you're willin' to move outta the state with him and away from the man you're obviously in love with..." Ken started.

"I'm not in love with Daryl. He's my friend, I can't be in love with him." Emma interrupted, saying the last part quietly.

The two of them looked out Emma's window when they heard someone knock on it. Adam was standing outside under his umbrella waiting for Emma. She smiled at Adam and held her finger up to the window, telling him to give her a minute. Adam huffed and rolled his eyes.

Emma reached in her purse and pulled money, holding it out to the cab driver who shook his head. "Don' worry 'bout it. Ya can pay me next time."

"But I'm moving...out of the state." Emma told Ken who just gave her a mysterious shrug.

The two of them got out of the vehicle and into the rain. Adam never moved when Emma got out of the car and walked around to the trunk to get her bags out. Ken looked at Adam standing under his umbrella, frowning when the other man failed to offer to help her get her things from the cab or move to cover her with the umbrella.

Ken walked to the back of the cab to help Emma with her bags. "He's a real charmer. What kind of man doesn' help his girlfriend with her bags?"

Emma looked at Adam, then to Ken. "He just doesn't want to get wet. It's okay, I'm sure he'll help me when we get inside."

When they were done, Ken closed the trunk and looked at Emma. "Don' let bein' scared be your reason for leavin'. It's okay to be scared, that's how ya know it's real."

"Emma! Let's go or we're going to miss our flight!" Adam said from the sidewalk.

Ken helped Emma carry her bags to the sidewalk and handed them to Adam. He turned around without a word to Adam and walked back to the cab. Just before he got in the driver's seat, he looked up at Emma. "It's never too late ya know."

Adam narrowed his eyes at the man as he got in the cab and drove away. Emma stood there for a minute before turning to walk inside. When she turned around, Adam was staring at her.

"What was that?" He asked.

Emma shrugged. "Let's go. We still have to get through security."

After checking their baggage and going through security, they walked to their gate. They sat down and waited to be boarded on the plane. Emma had her carry on bag in her lap and was playing with the straps. She was nervous about moving to Texas. She loved Georgia and all her friends and family were here. She was trying to think of a reason to be happy about the move but was having trouble coming up with one.

After a few minutes, Adam noticed Emma was fidgeting a lot. "Hey, you alright? You look nervous. Is this your first time flying?"

Emma was taken aback. She couldn't believe he had just asked her that. The two of them dated for almost three years before he moved away, he should know about her yearly flight. "No, I've been on a plane a few times. I'm fine."

Adam looked over at the lady who was coughing in the seat next to him. He moved a little closer to Emma. "Yuck, I'm definitely going to need to sanitize once we get on the plane. I hate sick people, it's so gross."

Emma smiled. "You wouldn't hate me if I was sick right?"

"No, I wouldn't hate you but I definitely would make sure not to be around you." He told her.

"You wouldn't take care of me? I'm your girlfriend." Emma said.

"No way. Just because you're sick doesn't mean I have to be." Adam said as he looked back at the coughing lady again. He turned back to Emma. "Switch me seats, please. I'll owe you. We can go wherever you want when we land, just don't make me sit here anymore."

Emma nodded and stood up, not wanting to listen to him whine, and watched as he scrambled away from the coughing woman. Adam bent over and pulled _Chicken Soup for the Man's Soul_ out of his carry on and started reading it.

Daryl wouldn't be caught dead reading that. Emma thought to herself. She smiled at the thought of Daryl reading any book. He probably wouldn't do it unless he had to. He never had time to just sit around and read.

If Daryl were here right now, the two of them would be playing cards or some random game that he came up with to pass the time. His newest game was trying to figure out where the other passengers were going and why. They tried to avoid the people who were obviously on business trips and stuck to the more fun ones...and some of the answers they came up with were outrageous.

She knew Adam wouldn't play games with her like that. He thinks games are childish and immature. Instead, she was watching her boyfriend read his book while she sat there, bored. Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt Adam touch her arm, making her look up at him.

"Come on Emma, time to board the plane." He said standing up.

Adam held his hand out for Emma who took it and stood. The two of them got their tickets out as they approached the lady standing at the doorway.

"Ma'am, can I have your ticket please?" The lady asked her.

Adam spoke up when Emma didn't move. "Emma, give her your ticket."

Emma turned to look at Adam and shook her head. "I...I can't."

Adam pulled Emma to the side to let other people pass them. "What do you mean you can't?"

"I can't go with you." Emma told him.

"What do you mean you can't go with me? Why not? Are you afraid I'm going to leave you again because I'm not. I love you Emma!" Adam told her, slightly panicked at her sudden change of mind.

Emma shook her head. "I'm sorry Adam but...I'm in love with Daryl."

Adam stared at her for a few seconds before breaking into fake laughter. "God Emma! You really had me worried for a minute. You're so funny. Now come on, time to get on the plane."

Adam grabbed Emma's arm and started pulling on her but she didn't move. "I'm serious Adam. I'm not going."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Adam yelled. His grip on her arm tightened and she knew she was going to have a bruise.

Emma looked around as a few people stopped what they were doing to look over at them. "Adam, calm down. People are staring."

"No, I will not fucking calm down! You are not going to break up with me for some stupid hick! I came back for you and now you are going back to Texas with me!" Adam continued to yell.

"He's not a stupid hick Adam! If I remember right, you broke up with me for a job. I'm not going with you and nothing you say is going to change my mind. Please let go, you're hurting me." Emma fought to sound calm.

Adam was going to continue to argue with her until he saw someone from security staring at them. Adam sighed. "Fine. I know that asshole is just going to end up hurting you anyway. A guy like him isn't capable of feelings and all that shit so it's only a matter of time before he leaves you and when he does, I'll be back."

Adam turned away from Emma and got his ticket out for the lady. He handed her the ticket and without looking back at Emma, boarded the plane.

Emma turned and made her way through the crowded airport as fast as she could, trying her best not to run into anyone. After what seemed like hours, she finally reached the front door. She walked outside and into the rain. Before she even got to the parking lot, a cab pulled up for her and Ken stepped out. He walked over to Emma and took her bags from her.

"You're still here?" Emma asked him.

He nodded at her. "I was on lunch and what better place to have lunch than the airport?"

"You knew I'd be back." Emma said.

He opened the car door and helped Emma in. "I had a feelin' ya would be. Now, where to?"

Daryl's POV

Standing in the pouring rain with a bag in hand was Emma. Daryl stared at her, in shock that she was standing in front of him when she should be on the plane.

"Emma. What are...why are ya...you're supposed to be..." Daryl stuttered.

"I couldn't leave." Emma told him.

Daryl took a step forward so he was directly in front of her. "Ya did leave. Even after I...

"I know. It's just we've been friends for so long and I...I freaked. I was afraid to let things change between us." Emma said.

Emma closed her eyes when Daryl ran his hands up her arms and to her face. "And now?"

Emma opened her eyes and looked up at Daryl. "Now, I just want to be with you."

As soon as the words came out of Emma's mouth, Daryl's lips were on hers. This time, she didn't hesitate to kiss him back. Daryl ran his tongue along her bottom lip, begging her for entrance which she quickly granted. She sighed happily against him and enjoyed the kiss until he realized they were both getting soaked. Stepping back, he took her luggage and led her inside. Before Daryl shut the front door, Emma turned to wave at the waiting cab that gave her a short beep before pulling away.


	9. Shot

_Sorry it took me so long. Got a little stuck. Make this chapter a little longer, hope you all like it._

**_Please review._**

_Emma looked around the diner to make sure everything was done before closing for the night. She looked behind her when she heard Amanda and Robert walk out of the back room and out the front door. Emma followed them to the door and waved as they walked to their cars._

_"Have a good night." Emma yelled to them._

_"You too. See you first thing tomorrow morning." Amanda responded while Robert waved._

_Emma took the keys out of her pocket and locked the front door. Daryl pulled his truck up to the diner and Emma waved and held her finger up to the window to let him know she would be out in one minute. She turned and walked to the back room to collect her things._

_Aunt May and Uncle Bill were on vacation this week, visiting some friends in Florida, and they had left Emma in charge of the diner while they were gone. Now, she was drained from doing her normal work plus all the daily managing. She was excited to go out with the boys tonight and take a break from all the extra work. She had been looking forward to it all day. She grabbed her purse, house keys, and jacket off the table in the back room before turning off the lights and walking out into the main room._

_A knock on the front door sent her jumping, and she looked up to see one of their new regulars, Dan, standing at the door smiling at her. He pointed inside to the table he was sitting at earlier in the night. "Emma! Can ya let me in? I think I left my wallet here."_

_Emma walked to the table she remembered Dan sitting at and looked around. She looked on the seats and under the table but didn't see his wallet anywhere. Walking over to the front door, she shook her head. "I don't see it Dan."_

_"Please Emma?" Dan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Just let me look. I'll only be a minute, I promise."_

_Emma knew she shouldn't open the door for customers if she was alone but Dan had been here several times over the last two months and as far as she could tell, he was harmless. Besides, Daryl was sitting right outside in his truck. A person would have to be an idiot to try anything with someone sitting in the parking lot watching them. Emma nodded at Dan and took her key out to open the door. Dan walked in as soon as the door was open and went over to his table. Emma saw Daryl sit straight up when Dan walked in the diner and she knew he was watching them. She also knew he was beyond pissed at her for opening the door and she would get an earful later. She smiled at him and turned to Dan who had moved from the table over to the counter._

_ "I don't think you left it on the counter Dan. I would have noticed a wallet sitting there." Emma told him as she walked away from the front door and over to Dan._

_Daryl stiffened in his seat. 'No, no, no! What are ya doin'? Don' leave the front door. I can' see ya if ya do.'_

_If Daryl wasn't pissed off about Emma letting some guy she barely knew in the diner after hours, he was definitely pissed now. What the hell was she thinking? He figured he would give her one minute and if she wasn't walking out with Dan, he would go in after them. He kept looking at the diner then back at his clock, watching both closely for something to happen. He sat in his truck for about thirty seconds before deciding a minute was too long to wait. He got out of his truck and walked towards the front door of the diner._

_He stopped as soon as he got inside, unable to believe what was going on. Dan had a gun pointed at Emma while she stood at the register and took money out, putting it in a bag. Dan must have heard Daryl walk in because he turned slightly, pointing the gun at him. Daryl put his hands up to show he wasn't going to try anything as he slowly walked closer to Emma. He wanted to be as close to her as he could, just in case that gun went off._

_Daryl put his arm on Emma's back when he got over to her. __"Ya alright?"_

_"Yeah, I'm alright. He said he's going to leave as soon as he gets the money." Emma whispered to him._

_Daryl moved his hand away from the counter and looked up at Dan who still had the gun pointed at them. Emma finished putting the money in the bag and set it on the counter. Dan walked over and picked up the bag and pointed the gun at Emma._

_"I need a car, where are your keys?" Dan asked her._

_"I didn't drive today." Emma told him quietly._

_"Ain't that your truck outside? Where are the keys?" Dan asked Daryl. Daryl took the keys out of his pocket and set them on the counter. He wasn't thrilled about just giving up his truck but he was going to do whatever he needed to do to protect Emma. Dan picked the keys up and motioned for Emma to come out from behind the counter. "You're comin' with me."_

_Emma started walking towards Dan but Daryl grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him. "She ain't goin' anywhere with ya."_

_"She don' have a choice. I need to make sure I can get outta here without ya followin' me or callin' the cops. Once I'm safe, I'll let her go." Dan told them. Emma felt Daryl tense up when Dan cocked the gun. "Now, let's go Emma."_

_Emma slowly walked out from behind Daryl. She knew he was trying to protect her but she wasn't about to let him get shot. It was her fault he was in this situation to begin with. She could feel Daryl's eyes on her as she walked towards Dan. She knew Daryl didn't believe Dan would let her go and was actually surprised when he just let her walk over to Dan. As scared as she was, she knew Daryl wouldn't let anything happen to her and knew he had to have a plan._

_Honestly, Dan hadn't planned on taking Emma with him. When Daryl walked in the diner though, he knew he didn't have a choice. Dan didn't think Daryl would let him get away without taking Emma. He knew Daryl had a thing for Emma, he could see it in the way he protected her. He knew that by taking her, Daryl would do whatever Dan said.._

___As soon as she got close enough, Dan grabbed Emma's arm and pulled her to him. He led her towards the front door, walking backwards to keep his eyes on Daryl who was slowly following them to the door to make sure Emma didn't get hurt. Dan was so busy watching Daryl, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He bumped into one of the tables in the middle of the dining room, knocking the chair on the floor._

___Dan jumped and turned to see what was going on. Without giving himself time to second guess what he was doing, Daryl jumped on him. ____Dan fell to the floor with Daryl on top of him, both fighting for the trigger. It wasn't until the gun went off that they stopped what they were doing. Daryl looked down and to his relief, saw neither one of them got hit._

___"Daryl..." Emma said quietly._

___Emma's quiet voice drew all eyes to the small woman standing a few feet away. She had blood soaking through her shirt over her stomach. Daryl wrenched himself away from Dan and ran over to Emma as she fell to the floor. Dan was right behind him with towels he yanked off the counter to put over her wound. He made sure Daryl was holding the towels in place before he got up and ran behind the counter to call 911. He picked up the gun and the bag of money that had fallen to the floor when Daryl jumped him._

___Dan walked over to Daryl and kneeled beside him. "I called for help. They're on their way. I'm so sorry. I didn't want to actually hurt her. I'm sorry."_

___Dan ran out of the diner, leaving Daryl alone with Emma. He kept talking to her, trying to keep her awake. He knew if she fell asleep, there was a chance that she wouldn't wake up. He looked down at the towel that was now soaked with Emma's blood. He had just changed the blood soaked towels for a couple of new ones when he heard the sirens outside the diner._

___Daryl didn't remember much of the next few hours. There was the ambulance ride to the hospital and the very hard call to Ben and Merle. How do you tell someone that you shot their little sister? Now the three of them were sitting in the waiting room of the hospital, anxiously waiting to hear from the doctors to see how her surgery went._

___They had been sitting for hours with no word from the surgeon. Ben was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands, slowly rocking back and forth. Daryl was pacing around the waiting room, unable to sit still. Merle was sitting in a chair, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a hunting magazine. He had told Ben and Daryl that Emma was going to be fine and they were worried for nothing. Merle, though, was a just as much of a wreck as the other two. He just knew he couldn't show it, they were already bad enough._

___The three of them walked over to Emma's doctor when he walked out to the waiting room. Daryl had never felt so relieved in his life as when the doctor told them the surgery went good, no major organs were hit, and Emma was in recovery._

___The next four days were rough on them. Emma had opened her eyes but she had so many medicines going through her system it was only for a few minutes at a time. She didn't even realize there was anyone in the room with her when she did wake up. She was stable though and for now that was enough for Daryl. Merle had gone back to work the second day she was in the hospital, after he knew she was definitely going to be okay. Ben called Aunt May and Uncle Bill who decided to come home early and Ben took off work to help them at the diner._

_______Emma's eyes darted around the hospital room when she woke up, stopping when they landed on Daryl. He was sitting in a chair next to her bed with his head on her bed and was holding her hand._ Emma could feel someone else touching her arm and looked to her left to see someone dressed like a nurse holding her wrist. Emma sighed, making the nurse look up and smile at her. Emma looked back at Daryl.

___"He's been here non-stop for four days. He refuses to leave that chair. He keeps saying it's his fault you're here but everyone knows it was an accident. I guess your brother checked the video. I gave you some more pain medication so it should help you a little. Push this button if you need anything and I'll come in." The nurse told Emma, pointing to the button. Emma nodded and the nurse walked out of the room._

___ Emma looked at Daryl who was still sleeping. She pulled her hand away from him. "Daryl?"_

___Daryl jerked awake and looked at Emma. He smiled at her and she could see the tears in his eyes. He moved his chair closer to her head. "Hey, 'bout fuckin' time ya woke up. Don' ever scare me like that again."_

___"I'm sorry. Did they catch him?" Emma asked. Daryl nodded. "Thank you."_

___Daryl laughed bitterly. "For what? Gettin' ya shot?"_

___Emma smiled. "Not your fault. He was going to make me go with him. Who knows what he would have done to me. You protected me, you saved me."_

___"I will always protect ya, no matter what." Daryl told her._

_End Flashback_

Emma was lying on Daryl's couch with Daryl's arms caging her. One of his hands was in her hair and the other was rubbing the outside of her thigh as they made out, his lips and tongue moving slowly against hers. She moaned when he ran his tongue along the roof of her mouth and then bit her bottom lip. As Emma gripped Daryl's forearm and lightly pulled his hair, he couldn't think of anything but getting her in his bed. As much as he wanted to though, he wouldn't. She was already afraid of things changing and the last thing he wanted to do was push her away so he was going to move at her pace, not his.

He was so involved with Emma, Daryl didn't even hear the vehicle pull up to the trailer or the sound of heavy boots walking up to his front door. It wasn't until his front door swung open that Daryl jumped up from his spot on the couch. He stared at his very wet and very pissed off brother who was standing in the doorway.

"Alright Daryl, I've been very patient with ya but now you're startin' to piss me off. I get you're upset 'bout your girl leavin' but that don' mean ya can ignore my phone calls. Now get your ass ready and we're gonna...What the fuck is that?" Merle asked, pointing to the bag on Daryl's floor.

"Get outta here, Merle." Daryl said as he walked to Merle and started pushing him backwards towards the door.

Merle tried looking around Daryl to the living room. "Ya got someone here baby brother?"

"Get out Merle!" Daryl yelled as he struggled against his brother.

"Oh come on! Don' ya think she should at least get to choose which one of us she wants? Unless ya got yourself a good one. Then she may be into sharin'." Merle said.

Daryl was about to respond when the two of them heard laughing coming from the living room. Emma sat up and pointed her finger at Merle. "That right there is why I tell every girl I see to stay away from you."

"What the fuck Emma! Why are ya messin' with my..." Merle stopped mid sentence and smiled as he looked at the girl who now stood up and was walking towards the Dixon's. "Emma! What are ya doin' here? You're supposed to be gone."

Emma nodded. "I know. I came back."

"Why? Wait! The two of ya?" Merle asked, pointing at Emma and Daryl. Daryl brought his hand to his mouth and started biting his thumb nail. Merle took that as a yes and smiled. "Bout damn time! Only took ya fifteen years. I thought ya were never gonna man up and tell her."

Emma looked at Daryl, eyes wide. "Fif...fifteen years? How the hell did you go fifteen years without saying something?"

Daryl shrugged and glared at Merle. He hadn't planned on telling Emma how long he had been in love with her. He figured she would be a little freaked out about it. She told him a lot of personal stuff that he thought she wouldn't have told him if she knew he was in love with her. And to be honest, he had no idea how he kept it a secret from her for so long. It crushed him whenever he saw Emma out with someone else. He hated her going out on dates because he was afraid the guy she was going out with was going to be the one that stole her from him. And Daryl literally felt his heart break in two the day that he found out Emma was moving to Texas with Adam.

"Daryl?" Emma asked, making Daryl look up at her. She wasn't sure what he was thinking about but he looked pissed.

Merle walked over to the refrigerator and took out a beer. He turned back to Daryl and Emma. "So, what are ya gonna do 'bout Ben?"

Daryl looked up at Merle and shook his head. "Forgot 'bout him."

"What about my brother?" Emma asked them.

Daryl sighed. "I kinda promised him we would never be more than friends."

Emma laughed. "Well that was dumb. Why would you tell him something like that?"

"I'm pretty sure ya can kiss your friendship with him goodbye. We all know what Ben is like when he's mad and if I had to guess, fuckin' his little sister is goin' to put ya on his bad list. Ya'll 'member how he treated Adam." Merle reminded Daryl and Emma.

Daryl remembered. Ben acted like Adam was the worst person in the world. Not that Daryl and Merle were all that welcoming of Adam but they at least attempted to get along with him while Emma was around. Ben hated Adam and he had no problem making that known, with or without her there. Daryl knew Merle was right, he was screwed. The only way he could save his friendship was to end things with Emma now. He loved her though, and he waited a long time to be with her. There was no way he was going to lose her now.

Emma looked between Daryl and Merle and smiled. "Honestly you two. It's not that hard. Just don't tell Ben."

Both Dixon's looked at Emma who just shrugged. "I can' lie to your brother. Ain't right." Daryl told her.

Emma sighed. "Look, I'm not saying we never tell him. Just...not yet. Besides, we all know about Ben's temper. You have to make sure he is in a really good mood before telling him."

Daryl looked at Emma and shook his head. "Sorry Em...I gotta tell him."


	10. Telling Ben

**_Please review._**

_Daryl, Merle, Ben, Jess, Amanda, and Emma were in Emma's basement drinking and playing cards. Emma liked when they played a game called "bullshit", because she could read everyone at the table, and k__new when they were lying. Her only competition was Daryl and he was getting drunk enough that he wasn't really even competition anymore. _

_When Merle decided he wanted to switch the game to poker though, Emma knew she was in trouble; she was a terrible poker player. She may be able to lie when she was playing bullshit but she didn't really have to think when she played. Poker though, she had to think about her next move. Daryl had once told her that everyone could tell what kind of hand she had because of the faces that she made. When she had a bad hand, she narrowed her eyes at her cards as she thought of her next move and her face lit up whenever she got a good hand. She tried to fight making faces when she played but Daryl told her that just made it worse._

_"Maybe we should play strip poker? What do ya think Emma?" Merle asked._

_"I don't fucking think so!" Ben said quickly, making Merle laugh._

_"Alright, alright. No strippin'." Merle said, looking at Daryl who was glaring at him. Merle had no doubt that his brother was probably going to kill him later for even bringing up the idea of strip poker. Since he was already on Daryl's shit list, Merle decided to push it a little further. He leaned forward and looked at Emma, his voice low. "Em, ya ever play strip poker before?"_

_Emma slowly looked up from the cards she held in her hands. Everyone at the table had gone quiet as they waited for her to answer. She smiled as she picked up her glass and drank from it. Everyone started laughing when she drank, knowing that she had just given them her answer. Daryl and Ben were the only ones not laughing. They both looked shocked and pissed. _

_"Emma Jean!" Ben yelled over everyone. Ben usually liked the game "Have You Ever?" but he wasn't sure he liked it when his sister was playing. He just prayed that she didn't drink much. The less she drank, the less she did._

_Emma just smiled at Ben and Daryl who were both glaring at her. "Oh come on guys, like you've never played strip poker before?" Ben stared at her for a moment before groaning and taking a drink. Daryl however just continued to stare at her. "Really? Never?"_

_Daryl shook his head. "Nope."_

_Amanda got an idea as she listened to the conversation. She smiled at Merle before turning her attention back to the group. "Have you ever went skinny dipping?"_

_Emma and Merle saw where she was going with this as they both drank along with Amanda and Jess. If they kept asking questions like this, Emma was going to be drunk in no time...and have one very pissed off brother._

_"My turn!" Jess squealed, looking around as she thought. "Lets see...Have you ever had sex on the first date?"_

_Emma set her glass down and looked around to see who was drinking. To her surprise, Ben and Daryl both drank along with Merle and Jess. Emma would have never guessed that with all of the awkward lectures she got from her brother about waiting until she was ready and to never to go home with a stranger that he would be drinking to that question. Then there was Daryl. Emma had never even seen him look at a girl let alone take one home._

_They all continued their game of poker, which Emma was glad was not strip poker as she was not playing very well. Everyone continued to go around the table and ask 'Have You Ever' questions as they played. Emma watched everyone who drank. She was a little surprised at some of the questions that were asked and even more shocked at the people who drank to them. She learned things about her friends that she never would have guessed to be true and some things that she wished she hadn't have learned._

_Amanda and Merle were the only ones who had ever cheated on a boy/girlfriend. Everyone but Emma and Amanda had tried some form of illegal drug. Not a single person in the group had ever kissed someone of the same sex and Merle was the only person to have a threesome._

_By the end of the game, everyone had drank too much to drive home so Emma made space for all of them to stay at her house. Merle and Amanda were going to stay in the living room, one sleeping on the couch while the other slept in the recliner. Ben and Jess were taking Emma's spare bedroom, leaving Daryl to stay in Emma's room with her. He wasn't too thrilled about the idea of staying in her bed with her at first, remembering what happened the last time she was alone with him while she was drunk. He silently prayed that she didn't try something like that again. Even though he wasn't drunk, he knew that he had drank enough that if she came onto him, he probably wouldn't stop her. The last thing he wanted to do was take advantage of her._

_He walked in her room and was relieved to find her already in her bed sleeping. He quietly shut the door and walked over to her bed. He sat down and took off his boots before lying down on his back with his hands behind his head. He sighed and closed his eyes only a couple of seconds before he felt the bed move. He opened his eyes and saw Emma was moving closer to him. She laid her head on his chest, putting her leg on top of his and her arm around his waist. She smiled to herself as she listened to his racing heartbeat and knew he was uncomfortable. The two of them had been friends for almost ten years and he still got uncomfortable with any physical contact. He used to push her away when she got too close to him but she kept pushing him, making sure not to go too far so he didn't pull away from her. Now, he tensed up a little bit when she touched him but he was better._

_End Flashback_

Jess walked outside to her front porch and sat in the glider. She looked up when the front door opened and Merle walked out. He sat down next to her, pulled a cigarette out of his shirt pocket and lit it. They both sat in silence, waiting for a sign that it was safe to go back in the house. Honestly, neither one of them wanted to be inside while Daryl and Emma talked to Ben. They already knew what Ben's reaction would be to the idea of Emma and Daryl being together and it wouldn't be good.

Inside, Ben was pacing around the living room, trying to comprehend what was going on. Standing in front of him and holding hands were Daryl and Emma. His baby sister! Ben ran his hands were on his head, pulling at his hair as he thought. _'I don't like this, I don't want them together. Sure we have all been friends for the last two decades but that doesn't make the situation any better. Daryl had promised me that there would never be anything more than friendship between the two of them. The son of a bitch lied to me.'_

Daryl and Emma never moved from their spot as they watched Ben, waiting for him to say something but he just kept pacing and muttering to himself. After about ten minutes, Ben stopped pacing and looked up at them. Daryl knew that look. He had never got the look before but he had seen it used on others. Daryl knew he was screwed. There was no getting back on Ben's good side now, no matter what he said or what he did. Ben was hard headed and if he had it in his head that he was right, he wouldn't listen to anything Daryl or Emma had to say.

Ben pointed to Daryl and Emma and shook his head. "This isn't happening. I won't let it."

"Kind of late don't you think?" Emma asked quietly.

"I want you two to end this now." Ben told them as calmly. His voice may have been calm but neither Emma nor Daryl missed how Ben's eyes narrowed at them, his heavy breathing, or the grinding of his teeth.

Emma shook her head. "Ben..."

"Think about it Emma. We have all been friends for twenty years. Do you really want to be the one that is responsible for ending that friendship?" Ben asked her.

"Hey! Don' ya put that on her! If anything happens here it's your fault not hers!" Daryl yelled at Ben.

Emma pulled her hand away from Daryl's, making him look at her. She had tears in her eyes as she talked to him. "He's right. He may be the one that ends things between you two but I'm the one that made him do it. It would be my fault."

Daryl grabbed Emma's hand when she went to walk away and pulled her back to him. "No, no, no. Ya ain't leavin'. I don' care what Ben says, I ain't going no where. I waited fifteen years to be with ya and I ain't gonna let your brother tell me I can'." Daryl looked up at Ben. "Ya can do whatever ya want but I love her and I ain't gonna stop seein' her."

Ben walked over so he was face to face with Daryl. Daryl felt Emma squeeze his hand a little tighter but Daryl never moved from his spot. "You're not seeing her anymore, I'll make sure of that."

"Ya can' stop us Ben." Daryl told him, his voice low as he glared back at Ben.

"We'll see about that." Ben said, his voice sounding just as threatening as Daryl's.

Daryl stared him down for a minute before turning away and starting towards the front door. "Come on Em, lets go."

"Actually, I would like to talk to my sister alone. I'll take her home." Ben told Daryl as he stared at Emma.

At this point, Emma was unsure of what to do. Both men looked pissed and like they were ready to pounce on each other the second they got the chance. She didn't want to make this any worse than it already was. She looked between Ben and Daryl, trying to decide who to follow. When she looked up at Daryl, he gave her a small smile and nodded his head towards Ben. He turned and walked to the front door. Emma watched as Merle ran up to Daryl to find out what was going on before Daryl was even outside. She heard Daryl tell him he would talk to him on the way home. A minute later, Emma heard Daryl's truck start and pull away from the house.

Jess walked in the house and shut the door behind her. She didn't want to interrupt Ben and Emma so she smiled at Emma and went in the kitchen to start dinner. Emma turned back to Ben who had started pacing around the living room again. She hated it when he paced. That meant he was thinking and that never turned out good. She would much rather he yelled and screamed and just got it all out and been done with it but he never did. That was one thing he had in common with the Dixon's. All three of them thought on things before they acted out on them. There have been times when she had all three of them mad at her for something and even though they are all hard headed and all had different opinions, they always stood together when it came to her. She hated it. She hated feeling like she was outnumbered and nothing she did could convince them to listen to her. Yet, right now, she missed it. She would give anything to have them all mad at her for something instead of fighting against each other. This was going to tear them all apart and there was nothing she could do about it.

Ben took a deep breath and let it out before turning to Emma. "You can't be with him Emma. I forbid it."

Emma laughed bitterly. "You forbid it? You can't forbid anything Ben! I am a grown woman and I can do whatever I want and see whoever the hell I want! You can't stop it."

Ben turned away from her and ran his hands through his hair as he thought, getting frustrated that his sister wouldn't listen to him. "He's going to hurt you Emma. Guys like Daryl don't settle down, they don't have relationships."

Emma narrowed her eyes at him. "Guys like Daryl?"

Ben looked at Emma and sighed. "Guys like the Dixon's, Emma. They're players, players don't settle down. You've seen some of the girls that Merle met at bars and took home with him, only to never be thought of again. Daryl is the same way, you just don't see it because he doesn't let you. He wants you to think that he is the good guy so you'll be with him. He wants you to think he is in love with you."

"Daryl is in love with me. Look, I love Merle, I do but I know he is a player. I would NEVER hook up with Merle but Daryl isn't his brother. The two of them may be related and share a lot of similarities but they are so different." Emma told Ben who just shook his head at her. "I spent the last twenty years with Daryl and you never had a problem with him before."

Ben nodded. "He was never trying to get my little sister in bed before either. I'm sorry Emma, I won't budge on this. You two are not to see each other and I will not hesitate to kick his ass if I catch him near you."

Emma nodded and picked her purse up from the couch. She started towards the front door with Ben right behind her. Jess glared at Ben and shook her head as he passed her and he knew immediately that she was on Emma's side. When they got outside, Ben walked to his car and opened the driver's side door. He looked up when he noticed Emma didn't follow him. He shut his door and ran after her. She was already at the end of his driveway and starting down the road when he caught up with her.

"Emma, get in the car. I'll drive you home." Ben told her.

"No thanks. I'll walk." Emma said.

Ben grabbed Emma's arm to stop her. "You're going to walk home? It's a six mile walk."

"I know." Emma said.

She pulled away from Ben and started her walk home. Ben thought about going after her but he knew she was already pissed off enough at him. If she got tired or ran into trouble, she would call him and he would go pick her up. Otherwise, he would just let her do what she wanted. Besides, the walk would be good for her. She could have time to think about what he said and see that he was right.


	11. Camping

_Thank you for all the reviews. Seems a lot of people aren't very happy with Ben right now...and possibly won't be very happy with me after this chapter. Please don't hate me._

**_Please review._**

_Emma was excited and nervous as she packed her bag. She had only ever been camping once with Ben a few years ago and she swore she would never go again. She tried to talk him into going to a campground with a RV this time but no, she was going in the woods with no electricity and only whatever supplies she packed to take with her. Originally, Ben had wanted to go alone with her and Jess. Emma was thankful though when Daryl and Merle heard about the trip and insisted on going. They talked Ben into going to their grandfather's house instead of somewhere that was unfamiliar to them. The two of them went hunting in their grandfather's woods all of the time so they knew the woods better than anyone else. Plus with their hunting abilities, it meant less food the group had to pack. Emma didn't care what food the Dixon's caught out there in the woods, she was packing her own. She heard them talk about being out in the woods and eating nothing but berries and squirrels and there was no way Emma was putting a squirrel in her mouth._

_Emma stopped packing when she heard her front door open, then shut. Her door was locked so it had to be Ben or one of the Dixon's since they were the only ones with keys. She resumed packing as she listened to whoever it was go in her fridge and move stuff around, probably looking for beer if she had to guess. She heard her fridge door shut and the man walk to her room. Emma walked to her dresser and started pulling extra clothes out and putting them in her bag. She heard the man stop at her doorway as she continued throwing clothes in her bag._

_"Hi Daryl." Emma said without turning around to look at him._

_"Hey Em. How'd ya know it was me?" Daryl asked._

_Emma turned around and smiled. "I could hear you walking around. My brother hates boots and you were walking way too quiet to be Merle."_

_Daryl nodded. "Smart girl. Ya all packed?"_

_"I think so." Emma said, pointing to the bag sitting on her bed._

_Daryl walked to her bed and looked through her bag quickly. He laughed when he saw all the food in it. "Jesus Em, how long are ya plannin' on bein' out in the woods?"_

_Emma sighed. "I'm not eating squirrel Daryl."_

_"That's fine. There are plenty of other things I can catch ya." Daryl told her, making her scrunch up her face and shake her head. "What's wrong Em? I wouldn' have ya eat somethin' gross. Don' ya trust me?"_

_Emma rolled her eyes. "Of course I trust you. I wouldn't have agreed to go camping if you and your brother weren't going."_

_Daryl smiled as he started pulling some food out of her bag. "I wouldn' let ya go alone with your brother. He woulda just got ya lost and me and Merle woulda ended up havin' to go in the woods to look for ya'll anyway."_

_Emma laughed. She knew Daryl was right. Ben had went camping with their dad a few times so he thought that made him an expert camper. Ben had talked Emma into going camping with him once a few years ago and Emma learned very quickly that he had no idea what he was doing. He didn't know how to set up a tent or start a campfire so they slept outside in sleeping bags in the pouring down rain. He also had absolutely no sense of direction and couldn't read a map to save his life. It took them three long days of fighting and arguing to find their way out of the woods. Yup, she was definitely happy the Dixon's were going this time._

_Daryl sat on Emma's bed as she finished throwing clothes and a few personal items in her bag. He tried not to stare at her as she moved around her room but he couldn't help it. He watched as she reached up to get something off her dresser, making her tank top ride up. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning at the sight of the new skin._

_She finished packing her bag and swung it over her shoulder before going to her closet and grabbing her sleeping bag and extra blankets. She turned back to Daryl and smiled. "You ready?"_

_Daryl nodded and took her sleeping bag and blankets from her. The two of them turned off lights as they walked through the house and out the front door. Daryl walked to his truck and threw Emma's things behind her seat. He leaned against the truck as he watched her lock the door and walk towards the truck. __She had told him about what happened last time she went camping so he knew she was a little nervous. He and Merle had been out in the woods a hundred times though so they knew what they were doing. He was going to do everything he could to make this trip more fun for her._

_They got in the truck and started the 2 hour drive to Daryl and Merle's grandfather's house. Emma turned on the radio and scanned through the channels, trying to find something good to listen to. Finding nothing, she turned on his CD player and smiled when she heard Rascal Flatts playing. She leaned her head back against the headrest and closed her eyes._

_ She loved the Rascal Flatts now but a few years ago, it would have killed her to have to listen to them. She couldn't stand listening to country music, she was more of a pop music kind of girl. She felt that country music was always depressing so she never really gave it a chance. She got tired of always listening to Daryl's country CD's so one day when they were in his truck, she took out his Toby Keith CD and replaced it with a Janet Jackson one. Big mistake! He warned her to take it out of his CD player and told her he wasn't listening to that garbage in his truck. When she didn't listen to him, he took the CD out and threw it out the truck window. Boy was she pissed but she never touched his CD player again after that. She learned to tolerate the music while in his truck and eventually ended up loving it._

_Emma must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew, Daryl was shaking her and telling her to wake up. She heard the truck door slam shut and she opened her eyes. She groaned and rubbed her eyes and saw everyone standing by Merle's truck. She got out of the truck and pulled her seat forward. She grabbed her bag and walked over to Merle's truck._

_"Mornin' sunshine!" Merle said as she approached them._

_Emma yawned and smiled sleepily at him. "We ready to go?"_

_The group made sure they had everything they needed before heading out into the woods. When Emma agreed to go with them, she was hoping to set the tents up no more than half a mile into the woods. She should have known better though. After walking for 45 minutes, Daryl and Merle finally stopped and threw their bags on the ground. She figured they had to be at least two miles into the woods which was more than enough for her to get lost. Daryl looked up at Emma and could tell by the way her eyes darted around that she was uncomfortable with being surrounded by nothing but trees._

_He walked over to her and put his hands on her face, making her look up at him. "Ya still trust me right?" Emma took a deep breath and nodded. "Good, Merle and me been in these woods so many times, we could walk them with our eyes closed. We ain't gonna get ya lost and if Ben somehow gets ya lost, we'll find ya. I promise."_

_Emma smiled and nodded. She trusted Daryl and Merle and knew they wouldn't let anything happen to her. Now she just needed to make sure Ben stayed with the group. No matter what happened, she wasn't going anywhere without a Dixon._

_Emma looked over to Ben and Jess who fought as they tried to set up their tent. She saw Merle leaning on a tree, watching them and laughing to himself. After watching them struggle for a few minutes, Emma saw Merle walk over to them and offer to help. _

_Emma walked over to Daryl who was setting up the other tent. " N__eed help?"_

_Daryl looked up at Emma, the bright sun behind her making him squint his eyes. "Nope. Just 'bout done. Ya can help me with the next job though."_

_Emma smiled, excited to be able to help. "Okay, what's that?"_

_"I'm goin' huntin'. Ya can help me clean what I catch." Daryl told her. He tried to keep a straight face when he told her but her smile faded and she looked at him like he had two heads and he couldn't help but laugh. "I'm kiddin' Em. Wouldn' wanna ruin the trip by makin' ya sick. Nah, I was just gonna get a fire goin' before it gets dark."_

_Emma nodded at Daryl and the two of them got to work getting wood for the fire. When they had enough wood, Daryl walked Emma through the steps as they started building the fire, helping her when he needed to. Once they got everything set up, Daryl took a book of matches out of his pocket and handed them to Emma._

_"Here, ya can start the fire. I'll be right back." Daryl walked over to his pack and took a bag of marshmallows out of it. Daryl had once seen Emma putting a graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows in the microwave. When he asked what she was doing, she told him she was making smores. As if it that wasn't bad enough, she had also told him that she had never had a real smore with roasted marshmallows. It was then that he decided he was going to make sure she got to roast marshmallows and have real smores and this was the perfect time for that. He turned back to where the fire should be and saw Emma trying to light the match. He laughed to himself and walked over, kneeling down beside her. "Ya gotta strike the match harder than that."_

_Emma sighed and put the matches down. "Maybe you should do it. I don't like matches."_

_Daryl put the bag down and moved behind Emma, putting his arms around her. He took her hands in his and helped her strike the match and put it in the fire pit. "What would ya do if the world ever ended and ya had nothing but matches for light or warmth."_

_Emma shrugged. "I guess I would freeze to death."_

_Daryl chuckled and picked up the bag and a couple of sticks off of the ground. He plopped down on the grass next to Emma and opened the bag, putting a marshmallow on the end of a stick before handing it to her. He set the bag and his stick down on the ground as Merle walked over and sat on the other side of her with chocolate and graham crackers. When the fire went from a small flame to more of a campfire, Jess and Ben came over and sat down._

_Jess watched as Emma's marshmallow caught on fire and shook her head. "Not like that Emma. You're burning it."_

_Emma looked at her marshmallow for a moment before blowing it out. Daryl stopped her just before she was going to take it off the stick. He put her marshmallow back into the fire and whispered to her. "Don' listen to Jess. It's better burnt."_

_Emma gave Daryl what he called a heart-melting smile as he helped her take her now black marshmallow off the stick. He reached in the bag and took another out as she ate hers. She couldn't believe how much she liked the gooey charcoal tasting marshmallow. At that moment, two things were clear. One, if the weekend kept on like this, she was definitely going camping with the Dixon's again. And two, she would never microwave another smore again._

_End Flashback_

When Emma left Ben's house, she couldn't stop thinking about what happened. Emma had had other boyfriends in the past and she knew how Ben, Daryl, and Merle treated them. Most of the men she dated ended up running after they met her friends, not even giving Emma the chance to have a real relationship with them. The only person who stuck around was Adam and that was only because Emma told her brother to back off. Adam never talked back to Ben or the Dixon's, he was afraid of them.

Daryl had already proven himself different. Hell, even when they were just friends he proved himself different. He had always been there for her no matter what the situation was. The two of them had some fights in the last twenty years where they would stop talking to each other but even that never stopped them from being there for each other.

She and Daryl have only been together for a few days and as much as she tried to talk Daryl into not telling Ben about them, she couldn't change his mind. They both knew what would happen if Ben knew about them but Daryl just told her that it was wrong to lie to her brother, even if it meant not being friends with him anymore. When they were standing in front of Ben and he was talking to Daryl like he was the worst man in the world, Emma almost expected Daryl to run just like everyone else had done. Seeing him stand up to Ben, stand up for her, really meant something to her. She knew Daryl loved her but this really proved it. He proved that he wanted to be with her. Now she just needed to tell him.

When she got home, she saw Daryl's truck parked in her driveway as she figured it would be. He was probably freaking out, wondering what happened with Ben and why she wasn't home yet. She walked to the front door and went inside. Daryl stood up from where he was sitting on the couch and walked over to Emma as she shut the door. He narrowed his eyes at her. "Ben drop ya off?"

Emma shook her head. "Nope, I walked."

Daryl nodded and sighed. "I'm guessin' that means ya weren't able to change his mind."

"No, I'm sorry. He won't budge. He forbid me to see you." Emma told him sadly.

"Alright. I guess I'll just go home then." Daryl said. He opened the door and started walking outside.

Emma grabbed his arm and pulled him back inside. She knew exactly what he was thinking when she saw the hurt look on his face. Emma has lied to Ben before but never disobeyed him. She put her hand on Daryl's cheek and smiled when he looked at her. "I said he forbid me to see you, not that I was listening to him. I mean, if you still want to be with me. He kind of said he would kick your ass if he caught you near me."

Daryl let out a breath and smiled. "Nothin' could change my mind 'bout wantin' to be with ya."

Daryl crushed his mouth to Emma's and backed her up against the door, making it shut as she moved against it. Emma kicked her shoes off as Daryl reached behind her and locked the door. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands finding his hair. She pulled it lightly, making him groan into her mouth. His hands moved down her sides and to her ass, picking her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist and started grinding against him slowly. He moved his mouth from hers to kiss his way down her neck. He moved her shirt from her shoulder, following it with his tongue.

Daryl was so into what Emma was doing to him and the sensations she was giving him, he didn't realize how close he was to cumming until it was too late. He immediately put Emma on the floor and turned away from her. He had waited so long to be with Emma and the first time they do anything close to intimate, he cums in his pants. He couldn't believe it. It had been six months since the last time he had sex so he knew he wouldn't be able to last long but he never thought it would be like this. He wouldn't have cared so much if he had done it with one of the one night stands he met in the bar but this was Emma. Emma was different than other girls, she was special and he wanted her to be treated that way. So how does he show her that she's special? He cums in his pants like a fucking teenager!

"Daryl?" Emma hesitantly walked over to him. She knew when he got embarrassed over something, it could turn bad very quickly. When she walked in front of him, she knew it was going to be bad. He was breathing heavily and had his eyes down, trying to fix his pants as he muttered to himself. "Daryl, it's okay."

Daryl's eyes shot up to Emma's when he felt her hand on his arm. Just as quickly as he looked at her, though he turned away. He grabbed his keys off her kitchen counter and almost ran out the door. He could hear Emma calling him but he ignored it as he got in his truck and drove away.


	12. Finally

_Thank you for the reviews and adds. I hope you all like this chapter! Let me know. Almost done with the next chapter however, in desperate need of some flashbacks. Let me know your ideas. I have two flashback ideas left and then I am out._

_**FanFicGirl10:** I know Daryl overreacted but this is Daryl we're talking about. He overreacts to just about every negative thing that happens to him and I'm pretty sure this is about as bad as it could get for him._

**_Please review._**

Emma had left Ben's almost two hours ago which he figured was enough time for her to get home. He knew if he called her to see if she made it home okay, she wouldn't answer her phone so he figured he would just drive by and see if she was home. He got in his car and started the drive to her house. He couldn't stop thinking about what happened with Emma at the house. He knew he shouldn't have been so hard on her about being with Daryl, he just didn't want to see her get hurt. Daryl was a good friend to Emma and if something happened between them and their relationship ended up falling through, it would ruin their friendship.

Ben felt rage surge through him as he pulled up to Emma's house. In her driveway was Daryl's truck. Daryl! The man who just two hours ago Ben had forbid her to see. How could she go behind his back and see Daryl anyway? Ben pulled away from Emma's house and headed home. If she was going to be like that, he was going to make sure she couldn't see Daryl anymore.

**-Just Friends-**

Emma was still trying to figure out exactly what happened with Daryl. She figured he would be embarrassed about cumming early but she didn't figure he would run from her. She kept hoping he would come back once he calmed himself down but after an hour and a half, she knew that wasn't going to happen. She walked to the kitchen counter and was just about to get her keys to go after him when she heard a knock at the front door. She closed her eyes and smiled. Once again, she had underestimated her man.

Emma opened the door and her smile immediately faded. "What the hell do you want Ben?"

Ben offered a small smile but dropped it quickly when he only received a glare back. Knowing she was still mad at him, Ben shrugged. "I need help Emma. Jess and I got into a fight."

"That doesn't sound like something you need my help with. Go home and work it out yourself." Emma said bitterly, shutting the door on him.

Ben caught the door just before it closed and pushed it open. He held up a duffel bag, showing it to Emma. "Emma, please. She won't even talk to me. She kicked me out of the house. I know you hate me right now but I really need somewhere to stay tonight, please."

Emma hesitated for a few seconds before nodding and moving aside to let Ben in. "Just for tonight and you're lucky you're getting that. I'm still pissed at you."

Ben smiled as he passed her and walked into the living room, throwing his bag on the couch and sitting down. Emma shut the front door and locked it for the night. There was no way she was going after Daryl now with Ben staying the night. She knew it wasn't Ben's fault that Jess chose tonight to kick him out but she couldn't help but be pissed at him for that too. She was just going into the living room to see if Ben wanted something to eat when her cell phone rang. She walked over to the counter and picked up her phone, seeing Jess's number on the screen.

'_Why would Jess be calling me?' _Emma thought before answering her phone. "Hello."

"Emma! Is Ben there?" Jess asked.

"Yeah, you want to talk to him?" Emma asked, walking towards the living room.

"No! Don't tell him I'm on the phone." Jess responded quickly, making Emma move back towards the kitchen. "Emma, listen to me. Ben is pissed. He said he drove by your house earlier to make sure you made it home okay and he saw Daryl's truck parked in your driveway. He came home and started packing his bag saying that he was going to stay at your house."

"Wait, he told me you kicked him out." Emma said.

"No Emma, he's there to make sure you can't see Daryl anymore." Jess told her.

"Oh really? Thanks Jess." Emma said before hanging up the phone.

'_Son of a bitch! How could my brother do that to me? He has never done anything like this before. Why now? Why Daryl? Oh, he is in so much trouble.' _Emma tried her hardest not to look any more pissed at Ben that she had earlier as she walked into the living room. She didn't want him to know that Jess called her just yet. When she walked in the living room, Ben was flipping through the channels on the TV, trying to find something to watch. Emma stuck her phone in her pocket and walked towards the hallway, stopping to look at Ben.

"Help yourself to whatever in the kitchen if you get hungry. You can stay in the spare room tonight." Emma told him before starting down the hallway.

"Wait Emma! You're going to bed now? There is a horror movie marathon on TV tonight. I thought we could watch it together, like we used to." Ben suggested.

Emma shook her head. "Maybe next time. I'm really tired, long day. Goodnight."

Emma walked down the hall and into her bedroom, shutting and locking her door. Leaning against the dresser, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Sitting on the edge of her bed with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands was Daryl.

Daryl knew Emma was mad at him and as he slowly raised his head to look at her, he braced himself for what was to come. He figured if he was lucky, she would just yell and scream at him. Dixon's were never that lucky though. No woman would ever stay with him after what he just did. They would yell and scream at him, tell him how worthless he is, then kick him out of their house as they told him they never wanted to see him again.

Daryl could feel his heart breaking when his eyes finally met Emma's. The way she was presenting herself made her look like she was mad at him and initially he thought she was. When he looked into her eyes though, he could see more than just the anger she gave off. He had known her too long to be tricked into thinking she was mad at him. He could see her jaw moving slightly and knew she was biting the inside of her cheek. Her breaths were short and quick, even though she was trying to keep them slow and steady. Her fingers were playing with the hem of her shirt but her eyes...that's what really gave her away. Even though he knew all of her habits when she was happy or angry or scared, her eyes revealed everything. Every emotion that she ever felt was shown through her eyes. Right now, when she wanted him to believe she was mad at him, he could tell she was sad...hurt.

Daryl stood up and moved to stand in front of her. He spoke quietly, still unsure what to say or how this was going to play out. "Em, I'm sorry."

Emma sighed and closed her eyes briefly before opening them to look at him. "Do you know what you're sorry for?"

Daryl groaned. He hated it when Emma did this to him. When they first started spending a lot of time together, he would make her mad and come back and apologize and everything would be fine. One day, they had a really big fight where they stopped talking to each other for a week and when he came back to apologize, she wouldn't take it until he told her why he was sorry. She made him tell her every time he apologized what he was sorry for. She said it wasn't to test him to see if he actually knew, it was more of the fact that it was good for him to say it out loud. She thought it would help him with his feelings that he tried so hard to hide from everyone. He wouldn't tell her but she was right. Every time he said he was sorry to her, it got easier and easier to tell her why.

"I know why_ I'm_ sorry but it probably ain't the reason you're lookin' for. I'm sorry that I left." Daryl told her.

Emma nodded and smiled at him. "You shouldn't have left. You know you don't have to run from me."

Daryl rested his forehead on hers. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm also sorry that I jizzed in my pants."

Emma's eyes widened and she bit her lip to keep from laughing but with the grin Daryl was giving her, she couldn't keep it in. "I cannot believe you just said that. That's so wrong."

"Best keep it down girl, Ben's out there and I would really like to not get killed yet." Daryl told her quietly.

Emma nodded and tried to control herself. When she got herself together, she put on a straight face and spoke to him. "I don't care that you did you know. It's not like you broke it or anything. I mean, do you really think you're the first guy to _jizz in your pants?_"

Daryl groaned. "Don' ever say that again."

Emma had to laugh at Daryl. She knew he hated it when she talked like that so of course, she made sure to do it as often as she could. When Emma finally stopped laughing, she stared into Daryl's eyes for a moment before kissing him softly. She pulled away from him but only for a second.

Daryl's hand moved to the back of her neck, pulling her lips back to his. His mouth moved slowly and gently against hers, his tongue moving to lick at the seam of her lips until she opened to his ministrations. Emma slowly moved her hands around his waist, feeling Daryl shiver when she pulled his shirt up just enough to touch the skin along the top of his jeans. The erection now pulsing against her stomach let her know how much he wanted her.

"Daryl bed, please." Emma begged between kisses.

Daryl whined at the sound of Emma begging him. He had waited so long to be with her and now she was begging him to take her to bed. The last thing he wanted to do was screw this up again, so he took a moment to gain control before walking her towards the bed. Never breaking contact, they moved together across the room.

When the backs of her knees hit the bed, he pulled away from her and gently pushed her to lie down. Crawling up to her prone form, his hands ran up her legs to her thighs. Emma whimpered as his hands moved over her, making Daryl look at her. She had her eyes closed and was biting her bottom lip as he continued his path up to her stomach, slowly pushing her shirt up as he went. Her breath caught when she felt him kiss her stomach, just above her naval, running his tongue up her stomach to plant kisses on her ribs and just below her left breast.

Emma felt Daryl's hands on her hips, holding her in place when she started squirming under him. She couldn't help it. The feel of his soft, wet kisses mixed with the scruff of his goatee were driving her crazy and he hadn't even really touched her yet. She had only been with two other men and neither one treated her this well.

Daryl sat up on his knees, pulling Emma with him. Lifting her shirt over her head, he reached behind her to unhook her bra, throwing it to the floor. Suddenly and inexplicably self-conscious, she lifted her arms to cover herself. Daryl smiled and shook his head, moving her arms and kissing along her collar bone. Pushing her so that her back met the bed, he pulled his shirt over his head, making sure to never break eye contact to help her not be so uncomfortable.

He kissed her again as his hands moved up her sides and to her breasts, running his tongue along the roof of Emma's mouth as he played with her nipples, rolling them between his fingers. She moaned into his mouth and bucked her hips up, rubbing against him impatiently. He broke away from the kiss and worked his way down her neck and to her chest, moving one of his hands to replace it with his mouth.

He circled her nipple with his tongue before taking it into his mouth and sucking on it, receiving a moan from Emma. She ran her hands down Daryl's chest and stomach until she got to his belt. She quickly undid his belt and the button and zipper on his pants. He hissed when she reached her hand in his pants and took ahold of him. She moved her hand slowly up and down the length of him, making him stop what he was doing and bury his face in her shoulder.

After a few minutes, Daryl grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away, pinning it to the bed by her head. "Ya keep doin' that, I'm gonna be done before we even do anythin'. Ya wouldn' want that to happen again would ya?"

Emma shook her head and Daryl sat back on his knees and unbuttoned Emma's jeans. He pulled her jeans down her legs and pulled them off, throwing them on the floor. He hooked his fingers in her panties and locked eyes with her as he pulled them off and threw them with the rest of her clothes. Standing, he hastily shucked his jeans and boxers before sliding back on top of her, using his arms to support his weight as he hovered over her.

Emma grabbed Daryl's face with her hands to make him look at her. "I love you, Daryl."

Daryl closed his eyes and smiled. Fifteen years he waited to hear her say that but nothing could have prepared him for how he would feel when she did. His kissed her lightly as he took himself in his hand and lined himself up with her. He pulled back and looked into her eyes as slowly entered her. Emma gasped and closed her eyes, making Daryl still his movements.

"Em, ya alrigh'?" Daryl asked her quietly.

Emma opened her eyes and nodded. "I'm okay."

The truth was, it had been a while for Emma and Daryl was a little bigger than what she was used to. Daryl could tell Emma hadn't been with anyone for a while. She was so damn tight he swore he was going to cum as soon as he entered her. He didn't move for a few minutes, letting both of them adjust to each other.

After a few minutes, Emma moved her hips into his letting him know she was ready. He pulled out of her and pushed back in, his thrusts slow and steady. Emma met him thrust for thrust perfectly until she decided to pick up the pace, causing Daryl to quicken his pace.

Emma and Daryl never broke eye contact as they moved against each other. Emma could feel herself getting close and apparently Daryl could tell too because he started moving even faster in her. She reached up and kissed him hard, moaning into his mouth with every movement.

She tore away from his mouth, throwing her head back on the pillow with her eyes shut and mouth open slightly. She arched her back as she came, tightening around Daryl who had to fight his own orgasm. He wanted to watch Emma's before he came. Watching her and feeling her on him was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced and he wanted to make sure to get every second of it.

Finally, when he couldn't take it anymore, he rested his head on her shoulder and let his own orgasm take over. He groaned as he released himself in her. He didn't move for a minute as they calmed down. Then he lifted his head up and looked at Emma. Her face was flushed and her eyes were still closed as she tried to get her breathing back in control. He smiled knowing that he was the one who did that to her. He rolled off of her and onto his back, pulling her with him. She rested her head on his chest and he pulled the blanket over top of the two of them. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes.


End file.
